Category Archives: Public Defense

Washington Supreme Court Issues Interim Order on Public Defense Standards & Caseloads

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Photo Courtesy of Mother Jones

The Washington Supreme Court issued an Order on caseload standards the Court has adopted for indigent criminal defense services. Justices unanimously agreed to set the new statewide standards, which call for public defenders to handle a maximum of 47 felony cases or 120 misdemeanor cases in a year, depending on one’s primary area of practice. The current thresholds are 150 felonies and 400 misdemeanors.

The Order is a summary explanation of the new caseload standards, which permit full implementation to be achieved over a period of time. The revised caseload standards will be integrated into court rules once the Court’s review of all of the proposed standards is complete.

The Order includes three key provisions:

  1. Specific caseload standards for different types of cases, which should be accomplished as soon as “reasonably possible,” and allowing for a phased approach to implementation;
  2. Declining to mandate a method for case counting and weighting, however, encouraging the use of case weighting; and
  3. Requiring evaluation of the progress and impacts of implementation three years after the effective date of the new caseload standards.

WHY DID THE WA SUPREME COURT MAKE RULINGS ON PUBLIC DEFENSE CASELOADS?

In 2024, Revisions to Washington public defense standards were recommended by the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and its Council on Public Defense (CPD). This happened after two years of intense study of the growing crisis involving steep declines in the number of public defense attorneys due to heavy caseloads and other factors, both in Washington and nationally.

WHAT DID THE WA SUPREME COURT DECIDE?

The Supreme Court’s adopted standards for indigent defense included lowering the maximum caseloads for public defense attorneys, revising some qualification requirements for public defense attorneys, and setting minimum support staffing requirements for public defense attorneys and offices.

While the Court has not completed its full review of recommended changes to public defense standards, “in advance of a full decision on all parts of the CPD’s proposal, we provide this summary communication of the Court’s conclusions on caseloads,” according to the Order. “The reality is that many aspects of indigent criminal defense services vary by structure and location, so the Court is adopting an approach which accommodates that diversity while fostering real and meaningful reductions in caseloads as soon as possible, where necessary.”

My opinion? Good decision. Studies show Public Defenders Are dangerously overworked.  Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Washington State Bar Association Approves Lower Caseloads for Public Defenders

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Overworking Killed 745,000 People in 2016, WHO Finds

Photo Courtesy of: Stock Photos from STOKKETE/Shutterstock

According to U.S. News, the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) has approved far lower case limits for public defenders. This follows an effort to stop them from quitting, to help with recruiting and to make sure they have enough time to represent each client properly. The new limits adopted at a meeting of the Bar’s board of governors are designed to cut maximum caseloads by about two-thirds over the next several years.

“Public defense is in crisis right now,” Jason Schwarz, director of the Snohomish County Office of Public Defense, told the Bar, which regulates attorneys statewide. “If we do nothing, we’re going to remain in crisis.”

Skeptics agree the system is breaking down but are concerned about finding more attorneys to cover the cases. Many counties, especially rural ones, already struggle to employ enough public defenders and get almost no state funding.

“This could be what bankrupts smaller counties like ours, unless the new limits help persuade state lawmakers to allocate more funding . . . At some point, we simply will not be able to pay the bills anymore.” ~Franklin County Administrator Mike Gonzalez

Attorneys are supposed to be provided to criminal defendants who can’t afford to pay, but public defenders are in short supply and busy. So some people who are presumed innocent are spending more time in jail, prosecutions are being dismissed and county costs are climbing.

The Bar’s Council on Public Defense began working on new standards in 2022. In October, the WA State Supreme Court asked the Bar to recommend revisions for the state. This came after a national report reassessed public defender caseloads and proposed a new way of calculating reasonable limits.

During debate Friday, proponents urged the Bar to make the changes.

“I am horrified that in 2024, in our democracy, in this state, people wait before they get their constitutional rights. My clients sit in jail and rot.” ~Adam Heyman, King County Public Defender

For decades, public defender caseloads were capped at 150 felonies or 400 misdemeanors per year. That will change incrementally beginning in 2025 and reach a new cap of 47 felonies or 120 misdemeanors in 2027, with lower maximums for certain case types. A defender working only on murder cases would be limited to about seven per year.

WILL THE STATE SUPREME COURT ADOPT THE WSBA’S RECOMMENDATIONS?

The WA State Supreme Court wields ultimate authority over criminal proceedings and hasn’t decided yet whether to adopt the new limits. The court’s existing rules are modeled on the Bar’s old standards.

The momentum and political will certainly exists. Lawmakers passed a bill this month to train law students and new attorneys to serve as public defenders in rural and underserved areas, but advocates say that is unlikely to solve the crisis overnight.

My opinion? Clearly, public defenders face extremely heavy workloads that prevent them from providing effective legal representation to people accused of crimes. They are asked to juggle too much work against their will, a phenomenon that eventually causes harm to their clients. Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

National Public Defense Workload Study

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With no public defender system, Maine's poor are often represented by private attorneys with criminal backgrounds

In a first of its kind report from the RAND Corporation, the National Public Defense Workload Study says that public defender caseloads are too heavy and unmanageable.

Also, today’s standards for the number of cases that public defenders handle are no longer working, with these caseloads leading to an exodus from the profession. The study recommends new standards be adopted to address the issue and protect the public’s fundamental right to effective legal representation in criminal court.

Researchers conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of 17 state-level public defense workload studies conducted between 2005 and 2022. The research then employed the Delphi method to facilitate the efforts of a panel of 33 expert criminal defense attorneys from across the country. The data quantified the average amount of time needed to provide constitutionally appropriate representation for adult criminal cases.

KEY FINDINGS

  • High-severity felony cases required the most time, on average: cases with a possible sentence of life without parole, 286 hours; murder cases, 248 hours; sex crimes cases, 167 hours; and other high-severity felony cases, 99 hours.
  • Mid- and low-severity felony cases required an average of 57 and 35 hours, respectively.
  • High- and low-severity cases for driving under the influence required 33 and 19 hours, respectively.
  • High- and low-severity misdemeanor cases required an average of 22.3 and 13.8 hours, respectively.
  • Probation or parole violation cases required an average of 13.5 hours.

EXISTING NATIONAL PUBLIC DEFENSE WORKLOAD STANDARDS ARE OUTDATED, NOT EMPIRICALLY BASED, AND INADEQUATE.

  • The 1973 National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (NAC) standards fail to differentiate among types of felonies, giving equal weight to a burglary, a sexual assault, and a homicide.
  • Using the 1973 NAC standards creates a risk of excessive workloads.

NEW NATIONAL WORKLOAD STANDARDS BETTER REFLECT MODERN CRIMINAL DEFENSE PRACTICE AND PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

  • The new standards reflect expert attorneys’ experiences with current criminal defense practice, including digital discovery and forensic evidence, as well as the expanded scope of a criminal defense lawyer’s obligations, including advising clients on collateral consequences.
  • The new workload standards can be used to assist public defense agencies, policymakers, and other stakeholders in evaluating defender workloads.

My opinion? Excellent study by the Rand Corporation. Many of my colleagues are highly-trained and extremely capable public defenders. However, public defense attorneys with excessive caseloads cannot simply give appropriate time and attention to each client.

Excessive caseloads violate ethics rules and inevitably cause harm. Overburdened attorneys are forced to choose cases or activities to focus on, such that many cases are resolved without appropriate diligence. A justice system burdened by triage risks unreliability, denying all people who rely on it — victims, witnesses, defendants, and their families and communities — efficient, equal, and accurate justice.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.