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Wichita County Commissioners vote to end contract with Regional Capital Public Defender’s Office
Summary
The Wichita County Commissioner's Court voted 5-0 May 13 to withdraw from its contract with the Regional Capital Public Defender’s Office, after county legal staff said the price rose sharply and the contract now contains an opt‑out provision that undercuts its value.
WICHITA COUNTY, Texas — Wichita County’s Commissioner's Court voted 5-0 Tuesday to withdraw from its contract with the Regional Capital Public Defender’s Office, with county counsel and other officials warning the agreement no longer provides the protections it once did.
The decision came after a lengthy discussion in which a county attorney explained that the annual cost of the contract had climbed from a nominal amount when it began to roughly the mid‑tens of thousands of dollars now, and that new contract language gives the provider broad discretion to refuse coverage in future capital cases.
“This is best thought of as insurance,” the county attorney said during the meeting, adding that “they basically installed a preexisting condition type of term that allows them to…
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