Category Archives: Public Defense

Public Defenders Join Lawsuit Against WA For Funding

Bellingham Defense Attorney, Legislation, Mount Vernon Criminal Defense Attorney, Public Defense, Skagit County Criminal Defense, Uncategorized, Whatcom County Criminal Defense, , , , ,

Public defenders are suing.

To be more precise, the King County Department of Public Defense is joining a lawsuit by rural counties that’s already in progress. The move shows that some advocates are running out of patience with the Legislature, which earlier this year retracted a proposal to dedicate some revenue from the state’s new “millionaires tax” for public defenders.

THE PROBLEM

For years, public defenders have reasoned and pleaded with Washington lawmakers to address a crisis in the courts by dramatically increasing what the state spends to provide attorneys for poor people. Unfortunately, the lawmakers haven’t taken much action. Public Defenders now see legal action as a way to force the Legislature’s hand to fund public defense.

“You don’t want to become a pessimist and say there’s no chance, but you realize you may have to have different approaches to motivate lawmakers. Sometimes, litigation is the only way.” ~Matt Sanders, Director of King County’s Public Defense Department

THE LAWSUIT

The lawsuit began in 2023, when Lincoln, Pacific and Yakima counties and the Washington State Association of Counties accused the state of neglecting its constitutional obligations by not adequately funding public defense. The suit suffered an initial setback in 2024. At this time a Superior Court Judge dismissed it, saying the counties lacked standing. But an appeals court disagreed last year and the state Supreme Court declined to intervene.

Under Washington’s longstanding approach, the Legislature has delegated its public defense obligations to the counties. This forces the counties to shoulder almost all those expenses, which total hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The counties claim the system is broken. They argue they can’t raise enough money at the local level to provide all their defendants with adequate counsel. Although the Legislature boosted its spending last year, the counties want much more.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

The debate matters because funding struggles and heavy caseloads have led to attorney shortages and uneven services across Washington, sometimes depriving defendants of representation and hampering prosecutions. The state Supreme Court has scheduled lower caseloads for defenders to reduce burnout and attract more recruits over time. For some counties, the new standards could exacerbate budget and staffing woes in the short term.

My opinion? Public defenders are indeed overworked. The situation is driven by systemic underfunding, high caseloads, and the growing complexity of criminal cases. This overwork not only affects the mental health and retention of attorneys but also undermines the constitutional right to effective legal representation. We urgently need reform in the public defense system.

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 Supreme Court Issues Interim Order on Public Defense Standards & Caseloads

Bellingham Defense Attorney, Mount Vernon Criminal Defense Attorney, Public Defense, Skagit County Criminal Defense, Washington Supreme Court, Whatcom County Criminal Defense, , , , ,

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

Bellingham Defense Attorney, Mount Vernon Criminal Defense Attorney, Public Defense, Skagit County Criminal Defense, Whatcom County Criminal Defense, , , , ,

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

Bellingham Defense Attorney, Mount Vernon Criminal Defense Attorney, Public Defense, Skagit County Criminal Defense, Studies, Whatcom County Criminal Defense, , , , ,

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.