By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – When a person is arrested by law enforcement, the 6th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees they will be appointed an attorney if they cannot afford one. If there is no public defender available, judges are sometimes forced to have the suspect released from custody.
That scenario may become more likely in the next 3 or 4 years if the Washington State Bar Association’s request of the State Supreme Court is mandated.
The public defense system in Washington is under significant strain because of what has become an exodus of experienced public defenders who are submitting their resignations. A recent survey found that the top two reasons for quitting were “low pay” and “high caseload.” Combine that with the fact that enrollment in law schools in America is down, and the Constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial, which in Washington is two months maximum, sounds potentially unsustainable.
The Washington State Bar Association has approved far lower case limits for public defenders in an effort to stop them from quitting, to help with recruiting and to make sure they have enough time to represent each client properly. The new limits adopted at a meeting of the Bar’s board of governors by a 12-1 vote in March are designed to cut maximum caseloads by about two-thirds incrementally by 2027. That would mean Clallam County would have to hire several more public defenders, if they can find any, along with additional county support staff and other costs.
County officials estimate the Defender’s Office budget would grow from the current $2.1 million annually to $10 million by 2028. Clallam County Prosecutor Mark Nichols told County Commissioners Monday that if the State Supreme Court approves the plan, it could be catastrophic to Washington’s counties.
“Fiscally, there are going to be impacts that I think can fairly be characterized as “catastrophic” to Clallam County. And we also have the public safety concern, which really is one that speaks to a priceless commodity. I’ve talked with this board before, I know, about my thoughts in relation to public safety. You cannot value it. I can tell you that once you lose it, once people stop feeling safe, it is extraordinarily costly and time and resource intensive to try to claw back that ground. And so, I believe that this development that is occurring is the largest undertaking that I’ve seen, that is going to have extraordinary impacts to the criminal justice system, in my 20 years working in prosecution.”
The state Supreme Court is expected to begin taking public comment on the matter sometime this month. Nichols urged County officials to organize a vigorous response to the proposal in the form of letters and other communications to the court, asking them to take into account the impacts on rural counties the new rule would impose before making a decision.
The County Commissioners agreed to work with other county departments to marshal a response.