Cowlitz County public defender warns Supreme Court caseload standards will force staffing changes

Cowlitz County public defense director Ian (surname not specified) told the Board of County Commissioners that new caseload standards adopted after a RAND study and taken up by the Washington Supreme Court will force staffing changes in smaller counties.

Ian said the Supreme Court adopted a phase‑in that will require counties to reduce case‑weighted assignments by 10% per year and reach a much lower 10‑year standard. "The writing is on the wall for the next 3 years," he said. He described the 10‑year standard for felony case credits as 47, while Cowlitz currently assigns the equivalent of about 150 felony case credits; for misdemeanors he said the 10‑year projection is 120 credits versus his current ability to assign 450. "I think in the year of 2026, I will need 1 more full time attorney position, and that's what I'm requesting," Ian said, adding he plans to return to the board next Tuesday with a request to hire an entry‑level associate public defense attorney.

Why it matters: Ian told commissioners that the changes are intended to ensure adequate attorney time per case — a premise drawn from the RAND study — but that the new numerical standards were set with large counties in mind and will disproportionately pressure smaller counties that cannot easily recruit additional attorneys. He warned the standards could trigger more ineffective‑assistance litigation and cited examples of other counties that faced large judgments after being sued over public defense deficiencies.

Discussion details: Commissioners and staff questioned the pace of the phase‑in and how costs would be covered. Ian described a county plan to craft a Cowlitz‑specific case‑weighting mechanism that he believes would meet the Supreme Court’s goals while imposing less hiring pressure. He said other counties are hiring aggressively — "they're hiring double felony attorneys, double misdemeanor attorneys" — and that Cowlitz's caseload trends (fewer felonies, more misdemeanors after reclassification of some drug possession charges) make a single additional misdemeanor attorney the priority for now.

Budget pressure from court‑appointed counsel: Ian reported the county's court‑appointed attorney line has grown sharply. He said non‑contract court‑appointed attorney spending was about $86,000 as of June 30, 2025 and has risen since; in 2024 the county recorded about $63,000 on that line. Ian asked commissioners to enforce county policy (General Rule 42, which he provided by email) that restricts district court judges from assigning court‑appointed counsel outside the Office of Public Defense's contracting process. He said judges had been appointing outside counsel, which then charged higher hourly rates and were billed to the public defense budget. "It's galling that it's not only they're taking that authority... but to then send me the bill is just salt in the wound," Ian said.

Commissioners' direction: A commissioner recommended reducing the court‑appointed attorneys budget back toward $85,000 and said "Invoices that don't meet policy will not be paid." The board discussed shifting the cost of attorney appointments to the budgets of the courts or departments that bypass the county contracting process if judges continue to assign outside counsel. Ian said he will provide a Cowlitz‑specific case‑weighting plan and seek formal county policy adoption by Jan. 1, 2026.

Ending: Ian reiterated the office's immediate ask — one entry‑level public defense attorney for 2026 — and said he will return to the commission with a formal budget request. He also asked for the commission's assistance enforcing county policy on court‑appointed counsel to limit unplanned budget growth.