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Public defense urges staggered phase‑in of caseload standards, requests staffing and space to meet new workload
Summary
Counsel for Defense told commissioners new Washington caseload standards and Supreme Court guidance require additional juvenile attorneys, investigators and space; the office proposed a 10% annual phase‑in to full implementation and requested county and state funding coordination.
Counsel for Defense (CFD) presented its assessment of caseload changes required by revised workload standards and a Washington Supreme Court order, and outlined staffing and space requests to meet the new requirements.
CFD said the earlier federal and state case‑weighting studies and a recent Supreme Court order will change the per‑attorney case credits the office must track. The office described past and proposed caseload caps: prior internal standards had assumed roughly 100 felonies and 400 misdemeanors per attorney; the new Supreme Court target would be 47 felony case credits and 120 misdemeanor credits per full‑time appointed attorney for any 12‑month period once fully implemented.
CFD…
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