A bill moving through the Indiana legislature aims to unify how criminal courts determine when a defendant is entitled to free legal representation.
Senate Bill 302 would establish a standard procedure for courts to determine if a defendant is indigent.
The legislation follows a study last year looking at how courts differ throughout Indiana in how they make such assessments.
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State Senator Karen Tallian says the study made clear that there was no set standard.
“Obviously, the courts are looking at what it means to be indigent in very different ways," Tallian says. "So, we're trying to just set some standards about what kinds of things the court should look at when they're making that determination.”
The bill passed the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee on Wednesday.
