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
  • Implementation of the Supreme Court's Standards for Indigent Defense
  • Chapter 10.101 RCW Public Defense Improvement Funds
  • Resources- Juvenile Offender Cases

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

Featured News:

Save the Date - OPD Regional CLEs

Each year OPD provides a series of free continuing legal education trainings to public defense attorneys statewide. This year's CLE series will take place in Mount Vernon on October 25, Wenatchee on November 8, Lacey on November 29, and Walla Walla on December 13. Please save the date - more details and registration will be posted soon.

Application Now Open - City Public Defense Assessments

OPD is now accepting applications from cities for participation in the Quality Indigent Defense (QID) Pilot Project Assessments. Funds will be used to evaluate the quality of services provided by cities’ contracted public defense attorneys. Completed applications are due to OPD by October 12, 2018.

Memo and Application in Word      Memo and Application in PDF 

Juvenile Defense Training Academy Graduates

In 2017 OPD launched its first annual Juvenile Defense Training Academy – a curriculum designed to train attorneys on legal and practical skills unique to defending youth in offender cases.  Attorneys interested in joining this year's Academy should contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Graduates of the Academy are:

• Sharonda Amamilo (Thurston Co.)
• Trena Berton (Island Co.)
• Michael Borge (Clark Co.)
• Tirsa Butler (Mason Co.)
• Lawrence Delay (San Juan Co.)
• Krista Elliott (Spokane Co.)
• Patricia Fassett (Cowlitz Co.)
• Susan Goolsbee (Skagit Co.)
• Clarence Henderson (Pierce Co.)
• Amy Jones (Whatcom Co.)
• Amanda Kleespie (Grays Harbor Co.)
• Ashwin Kumar (King Co.)
• Megan Manlove (Spokane Co.)
• Michael Morris (King Co.)
• Alexandra Narvaez (King Co.)
• Kathy Prunty (Skagit Co.)
• Danielle Purcell (Benton Co. and Franklin Co.)

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..