Standards for Indigent Defense

Washington Supreme Court Standards for Indigent Defense

• Supreme Court Order Re: Standards Amendments _{Dec 16, 2025}
• Supreme Court Order Re: Standards Implementation _{June 9, 2025}
• Washington Supreme Court Orders Emergency Order Regarding the Standards
• Sample Attorney Certification Form _{Last Revised: 01/09/2026}

Washington State Bar Association Standards and Performance Guidelines

• WSBA Standards for Indigent Defense Services _{Last Revised: 09/2024}
• WSBA Performance Guidelines for Criminal Defense Representation
• WSBA Performance Guidelines for Juvenile Offense Representation
• WSBA Performance Guidelines for Civil Commitment Proceedings
   

National Organizations' Public Defense Guidance

• ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System
• ABA Eight Guidelines of Public Defense Related to Excessive Workloads
• National Juvenile Defense Standards
• ABA National Public Defense Workload Study

   

Former WSBA Standards Archived Materials

Archived Court Rules CrR 3.1Stds, CrRLJ 3.1 Stds, JuCr 9.2 Stds

• WSBA Standards for Indigent Defense Services _{Last Revised: 01/2021}
• Archived Court Rules CrR 3.1Stds, CrRLJ 3.1 Stds, JuCr 9.2 Stds
  • Rule | Superior Court Criminal Rule 3.1 Standards
  • Rule | Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction 3.1 Standards
  • Rule | Juvenile Court Rule 9.2 Standards
• Caseload Calculators
• Policy- Model Misdemeanor Case Weighting
• Report- 2019 Audit of Trial-Level Compliance with the Standards for Indigent Defense
• Report- 2013 Implementation of Standards for Indigent Defense
• Report- Juveniles Sentenced as Adults in Washington State, 2009-2019