Court Appointed Attorneys- On-going Supplemental

The City of Tempe, Arizona is issuing Request for Proposal #26-122 to procure qualified individual attorneys to serve as Court Appointed Attorneys for indigent defendants in the Tempe Municipal Court. The primary deliverable is Contract V for in-custody docket coverage, operating seven days per week from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or until docket conclusion, with attorneys providing legal representation at arraignments, pretrial conferences, motions, trials, sentencings, and appeals. Qualified applicants must be licensed members in good standing with the State Bar of Arizona with a minimum of three years of experience prosecuting or defending misdemeanor cases in Arizona courts. The evaluation process weights experience and qualifications at 90 points—encompassing court appointment experience, professional qualifications, references, schedule availability, and education—with overall RFP response quality at 10 points, and potential interview scoring of up to 300 additional points. Critical deadlines include December 11, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Arizona time for inquiries and December 31, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. for proposal submission through the City's Bonfire procurement portal and via email to cecille_lewis@tempe.gov. The contract term commences upon award for one year, with the City reserving unilateral extension rights for up to 90 days and renewal options for supplemental terms of up to two additional years in one-year increments. Required proposal components include current office address, contact information, proof of Arizona bar licensure, disciplinary history disclosures, relevant misdemeanor case experience documentation, schedule availability confirmation, professional references, acceptance of terms and conditions, anti-discrimination policy compliance documentation, and completion of a supplier sustainability questionnaire.

The procurement does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions on entity types, nor does it identify incumbent vendors or existing contractors. Compensation is structured at a fixed hourly rate of $70.00 per hour with a three-hour minimum for in-custody docket coverage; actual caseloads are subject to monthly audit and adjustment. The City does not reimburse overhead, telephone, copying, office supplies, transportation, parking, paralegal fees, or other miscellaneous expenses; however, reasonable costs for breath sample analysis, expert witnesses, interpreters, and discoverable materials copying may be approved on a case-by-case basis upon advance request. Invoices and case tracking logs must be submitted monthly by the 10th of the following month and reconciled by the Court prior to payment authorization. While the RFP does not provide a specific overall budget cap, the hourly rate structure and three-hour minimum establish the baseline compensation framework for awarded contracts.