Welcome

The mission of the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) is "to implement the constitutional and statutory guarantees of counsel and to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of indigent defense services funded by the state... ."  RCW 2.70.005.  Established by the Legislature in 1996, OPD is an independent agency of the judicial branch.

OPD administers indigent defense services in the following areas:

• Appellate Program
• Parents Representation Program
• RCW 71.09 Civil Commitment
• Extraordinary Criminal Justice Costs
• Public Defense Improvement Program
  • Indigency Screening
  • Washington Supreme Court's Standards for Indigent Defense
  • Chapter 10.101 RCW Public Defense Improvement Funds
  • Resources for Juvenile Defense Attorneys
  • Criminal Defense Training Academy
  • Disproportionality Advocacy

OPD cannot provide direct representation of clients, pursuant to RCW 2.70.020.

Featured News:

Disproportionality Advocacy

Disproportionality resources to build upon advocacy strategies for using data to show how race impacts various points of a case and case outcomes.

County Applications for Chapter 10.101 RCW Funds

The County Application for 2021 state grant funds available pursuant to RCW 10.101.050-070 is now available. Applications are due by Monday, August 31, 2020.  Please see OPD’s updated policy on approved uses of grant funds (PDF), which now includes assistance for COVID-19 related expenses for indigent defense counsel.

• •  County Application [Word]
    
    

Tools for Implementing the Supreme Court's Standards for Indigent Defense

To assist in implementation of the Supreme Court Standards for Indigent Defense, OPD has developed a series of short web tutorials, an FAQ, sample caseload calculators, and a customizable Model Misdemeanor Case Weighting Policy .   Additional questions or requests for technical assistance can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..