Public defender office faces staffing gap; county approves short‑term authority to raise contract lawyer rates to avoid case delays

Mason County’s public defender office reported an urgent shortage of in‑house felony attorneys and asked commissioners for temporary authority to increase contract attorney rates to attract outside counsel while recruiting.

Staff said the office lost its chief public defender and is contracting felony work; at the time of the briefing roughly 100 felony cases were unassigned. The public defender described daily preliminary hearings that require counsel and raised concerns about the county’s ability to meet court obligations without more outside attorneys. The state Office of Public Defense staff said they would like to help but state law currently restricts their ability to practice locally in a way that would directly staff county courtrooms without statutory changes.

Board action: Commissioners gave the public defender the contingent authority — within existing contract authority up to $50,000 — to temporarily increase the hourly rate paid to contracted felony attorneys from $125 to up to $175 per hour for a limited period (the public defender proposed May 1 to Aug 31). Commissioners asked staff to return with a written policy and contract language at the next meeting to formalize the interim approach. They also directed county HR to brainstorm options for an interim internal solution consistent with personnel rules.

Why it matters: Adequate defense counsel is a legal right; lack of counsel can delay hearings, affect bail decisions and create court-ordered continuances. The county cited potential public‑safety and legal consequences if hearings proceed without counsel.

Ending: The public defender will advertise more widely, use jail video conferencing to expand candidate reach and implement temporary higher rates under the delegated contracting authority while returning a formal policy for commission review.