Cowlitz County's Office of Public Defense director told the Board of Commissioners that new statewide caseload standards adopted by the Washington Supreme Court, informed in part by a RAND study, will require counties to lower the number of case credits assigned to each public defender over a decade and that the county should add personnel to comply during the phase-in.

The director (identified in the meeting only as Ian) said the court adopted a phased approach that reduces allowable case-weighted credits by about 10 percent per year and projects a 10-year end state the county must reach unless the Supreme Court changes course. Using the standards quoted in the presentation, Ian said a 10-year requirement would reduce an assignable felony case-credit load from 150 to about 47 in the far-end projection; he described that as a roughly 69 percent reduction from current assignment practice. He said the phase-in gives smaller counties time to adapt but still will require additional staff in coming years.

"I think in the year of 2026, I will need one more full-time attorney position," Ian told the board, and said he intends to return next Tuesday with a formal budget request to hire a misdemeanor-level attorney midyear to address an immediate projected 10 percent case-credit reduction for misdemeanors.

Ian described changes in the mix of cases that drive demand. He said felony filings have declined in recent years while misdemeanor filings have risen (he cited the statutory change that moved certain possession charges from felony to misdemeanor), which concentrates pressure at the district-court level. Under the proposed standards, he said misdemeanor case-credit limits would tighten faster for his office's workload and that adding one associate-level public defender would help the county meet year-to-year reductions without sudden disruption.

The director also raised the county's rising court-appointed-attorney expenditures in district court and recommended enforcing a county general rule (General Rule 42) and related policy that assigns primary responsibility for contracting or appointment processes to the Office of Public Defense, not to individual judges, to manage costs. He said court-appointed expenditures had reached about $86,000 as of June 30 and that the office had previously managed that line at about $62,715; the higher expenditures were continuing to grow, he said.

Commissioners and staff discussed options including contracting at agreed rates for conflict appointments, asking district court to absorb costs when they bypass office procedures, and developing a county-specific case-weighting mechanism to meet the Supreme Court standard while reducing hiring pressure. Ian said he plans to present a Cowlitz County case-weighting proposal before year-end as the county's official response to statewide changes.

No formal board vote on staffing occurred during the meeting; the director said he would return with a formal request for one full-time attorney for 2026.