A. A person applying for the appointment of counsel in criminal, juvenile, involuntary commitment, or dependency cases, or in any other case where the right to counsel attaches, shall be assessed a nonrefundable application fee of $10.00.

B. Application fees paid shall be used to defray the costs and expenses incurred by the City of Lakewood in making the determination of indigency pursuant to Chapter 10.101 RCW. Such costs and expenses include conducting indigency screening, verifying information, processing applications, and providing a written report to the court.

C. The application fee shall be collected at the time of application.

D. No defendant will be denied the assistance of counsel in those rare instances where the applicant is unable to pay such a fee without extreme financial hardship. [Ord. 209 § 1, 1999.]