Department of Public Defense reports rising assignments and aggressive hiring effort as caseload standards approach

The King County Department of Public Defense reported to the Law and Justice Committee that it has accelerated hiring to meet pending caseload standards, but that recent increases in assignments across district and juvenile courts have created uncertainty that may require additional staff and budget authority.

Interim DPD Director Matthew Sanders told the committee the department has pursued lateral hires and new classes of attorneys and had increased felony attorney counts from about 74 to 93 by March; he said the department expects to reach roughly 100 felony attorneys after a June lateral class and to expand further in the fall when new law school graduates join after passing the bar. Sanders said the department received 34 FTE authority in the executive’s proposed budget and an additional 10 FTEs approved during…