The state is running low on public defenders and the Director of the Office of Public Defense says the situation is dire.
Between growing caseloads and attorneys quitting faster than they’re getting hired, defenders are working around the clock to represent those who can’t afford attorneys on their own.
The Director, Larry Jefferson, even sent a letter to the Washington Supreme Court back in November asking to stop assigning public defenders’ new cases with defendants not in custody for 90 days starting January 1.
This means that only defendants in jails would be assigned attorneys.
That request was denied, and Jefferson says defendants across the state aren’t getting the same representation.
“The average person has no idea the average person assumes when they get to court, they’re going to have a lawyer that person is going to listen to them and that person is going to fight for them,” said Jefferson. That’s what every person deserves and that’s what we don’t have.”
Per Jefferson, the public defense system in Washington is funded by the county.