Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Public defender warns Supreme Court caseload standards will require hires; asks for one attorney in 2026
Summary
The director of Cowlitz County's Office of Public Defense told commissioners a 10-year Supreme Court caseload standard tied to a RAND study will effectively reduce allowable case credits each year by 10 percent and that he will ask the board to fund one additional attorney in 2026 to respond to the phase-in.
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…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
