News
The U.S. Constitution guarantees defendants a right to a speedy trial. In Washington, that means people arraigned on a criminal charge have to be brought to trial within two months if they are being…
Mar 28, 2024 - Public defenders' plight is finally getting some attention
Washington's public defense system has been overextended for some time. It's underfunded and understaffed, making it difficult — sometimes impossible — for publicly paid court-appointed attorneys to…
Mar 8, 2024 - Public defenders struggle with big caseloads
State funding covers fraction of local costs
Public defenders for Okanogan County — the lawyers who represent defendants who can’t afford to hire their own attorney — are juggling such…
Nov 16, 2023 - Clark County to Start a Public Defense Office
After many starts and stops and years of input, the Clark County Council unanimously approved using $3 million in ARPA funding to create a county public defense office.
Seattle Times Staff Reporter, Daniel Beekman writes, "When you’re charged with a crime that could put you behind bars and you don’t have enough money to pay an attorney to defend you, the government…
The state is running low on public defenders and the Director of the Office of Public Defense says the situation is dire.
Between growing caseloads and attorneys quitting faster than they’re…
The Office of Public Defense (OPD) has asked the court to restrict assignments of new clients to public defenders unless their current open caseload is below 60 percent of the state’s current…
The application process is now open to apply for attorney representation on your case. Cases will start being assigned to attorneys on January 1, 2024.
After Washington’s Supreme Court shot down felony drug possession, it created a domino effect in 200,000 cases statewide. Click here to read the full article.
Imagining Something Better than Washington's Patchwork Public Defender System.
"As one of the many states without a unified system of Public Defense, the consistency of Public Defense and access to…