News

After the unanimous passage of SB 5780 in the 2024 Legislative Session, the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) established a Recruitment and Retention Program. The program addresses the…
Supreme Court of Washington Order No. 25700-A-1644. In the matter of the standards for indigent defense implementation of CrR 3.1, CrRLJ 3.1, AND JuCR 9.2. Starting in 2026, felony defenders will…
On any given day, 190,600 women and girls are incarcerated in the United States, over 60,000 women are detained pretrial, presumed innocent, caged in U.S. jails simply because they cannot afford to…
Applications for the Spring Criminal Defense Training Academy (CDTA) closed on February 18, 2025. However, you may still register to be placed on the waitlist. CDTA is designed for newer lawyers but…
DCYF released this wonderful video featuring OPD’s fabulous Shrounda Selivanoff, former DCYF Ross Secretary Hunter (and also from DCYF Cindy Hostetler) talking about the Certificate of Parental…
Awareness of the Blake decision and relief opportunities is growing in-state and across state borders, through grassroots community efforts. These dedicated outreach efforts between the…
As directed by the Washington Legislature, the Office of Public Defense reports on its implementation of SB 5046. This report identifies systemic barriers and recommends reforms to improve access to…
For this Beyond Boundaries interview, Robin Zimmermann from Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts and Chris Graves from Washington Office of Public Defense discuss the work they'…
Washington Courts Report - Episode 2: Family Reunification Month with Tonia McClanahan
Shrounda Selivanoff and Tara Urs authored the linked article explaining the importance of new legislation that prioritizes resolving family dependency cases with guardianship instead of defaulting to…