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State public defender says consolidation is stabilizing but warns budget cuts could raise caseloads and prompt litigation
Summary
At the Joint Finance hearing the Office of the State Public Defender described progress after consolidating county public defense into a statewide system: vacancies have fallen, but the director warned that sustained cuts would force contractor reductions, increase caseloads and could spur litigation such as the pending Tucker case.
Janica Bisharat, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance Corporation Committee that the Office of the State Public Defender’s FY2026 appropriation is about $83.2 million and that the agency’s FTP cap is 333.96; as of the presentation the agency reported roughly 23.96 vacancies with start dates already scheduled to reduce that number.
Bisharat said the Public Defense Fund and the general fund finance the agency and the agency’s FY2027 request includes six trial attorney positions estimated to cost $849,700 and a proposed increase in the FTP cap to 339.96 to staff district offices in several counties.
Director Fredericksen (addressed in the hearing by that name) told the committee the statewide…
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