490                                 Laws of Maryland                        [Ch. 209

persons. The maximum use of panel attorneys shall be made insofar
as practicable.

(c)   The primary duty of all panel attorneys appointed by the
Office of the Public Defender shall be to the individual defendant,
with like effect and to the same purpose as though privately engaged
by the indigent person and without regard to the use of public funds
to provide the service. This shall not preclude the designation or
assignment of different individuals to perform, various parts of the
service from time to time. A panel attorney who is assigned to repre-
sent an indigent person under this Article, shall report to the Office
of the Public Defender on his representation of the indigent person,
as prescribed by rules of the Public Defender.

(d)  Panel attorneys shall be compensated by the Public Defender
for their professional services and expenses incident to representa-
tion of indigent persons, upon the filing of a petition for a legal fee
and expenses. Payment of fees and expenses shall be authorized by
the Office of the Public Defender according to fee schedules estab-
lished from time to time by the Public Defender and from funds
authorized by the budget for the office of the Public Defender. A
panel attorney who represents an indigent person under this Article
may not receive any fee for his services in addition to that provided
pursuant to this Article. Any attorney seeking compensation for
legal fees or expenses disapproved by the Public Defender or in
excess of those authorized for payment may seek the review of his
petition by the Board of Public Works of Maryland. DISTRICT
ADVISORY BOARDS. All fees and expenses paid to panel attorneys,
including any authorized as herein provided by the Board of Public
Works, DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARDS, shall be paid out of funds
appropriated by the budget to the Office of the Public Defender.

(e)   The Office of the Public Defender may provide staff and tech-
nical assistance to any panel attorney appointed to represent an
indigent person.

(f)  Nothing in this Article shall be construed to deprive any court
of its authority to appoint an attorney to represent an indigent per-
son where there is a conflict in legal representation in a matter in-
volving multiple defendants and one of the defendants is repre-
sented by or through the Office of the Public Defender, or where the
Office of the Public Defender declines to provide representation to
an indigent person entitled to representation under this Article.

7. Eligibility for Legal Services, Determination of Financial Status
of Accused Persons, and Recovery of Expenses.

(a) Eligibility for the services of the Office of the Public Defender
shall be determined on the basis of the need of the person seeking
legal representation. Need shall be measured according to the finan-
cial ability of the person to engage and compensate competent private
counsel and to provide all other necessary expenses of representation.
Such ability shall be recognized to be a variable depending on the
nature, extent and liquidity of assets; the disposable net income of the
defendant; the nature of the offense; the effort and skill required to
gather pertinent information; the length and complexity of the pro-
ceedings; and any other foreseeable expenses. In the event that a
determination of eligibility cannot be made before the time when