SALEM – Gov. Tina Kotek has fired Jessica Kampfe as director of the Oregon Public Defense Commission and appointed Oregon Criminal Justice Commission Executive Director Ken Sanchagrin to take over immediately as the interim executive director. As Oregon faces a worsening shortage of public defense attorneys, Kotek’s move late last week met with approval from a number of officials.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with him for years with the Criminal Justice Commission,” Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said. “I think he’s a fantastic fit for that position.”
District attorneys from Multnomah and Washington counties also praised the move. Those are among the six hardest hit counties. The others are Marion, Jackson, Douglas, and Coos counties. It’s estimated that an estimated 4,000 alleged criminals are without attorneys due to the shortage and many of them have waited for counsel longer than a year. Umatilla County has not been hit as hard by the shortage, but also suffers a shortage of deputy district attorneys…