HomeMy WebLinkAboutDISCUSSION re Indignent Defense Attorneys Inbox WSBA Board of Governors
PRESIDENT Hunter M.Abell
PRESIDENT-ELECT Sunitha Anjilvel
IMM.PAST PRESIDENT Daniel D.Clark
1ST DISTRICT Sunitha Anjilvel Inbox .•
2ND DISTRICT Kari Petrasek
3RD DISTRICT Allison Widney
4TH DISTRICT Mary M.Rathbone
5TH DISTRICT,TREASURER Francis Adewale
6TH DISTRICT Todd A.Bloom
7TH-NORTH DISTRICT Matthew Dresden
7TH-SOUTH DISTRICT Serena Sayani
8TH DISTRICT Kristina Larry
9TH DISTRICT Kevin Fay
10TH DISTRICT Nam Nguyen LET US HEAR FROM YOU!
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WSBA PRACTICE MGMT. 800-945-9722,ext.5914 Chainsaw Instead of is certainly a part of that—but
ASSISTANCE not all.The fact is,public
Scalpel Not a Cure
NWSIDEBAR,THE WSBA BLOC 206-733-5914
defense is a job where the
blog@wsba.org
nwsidebar.wsba.org court,prosecutor,Board of
WSBA CAREER CENTER CountyCommissioners,the
jobs.wsba.org
The WSBA has made a serious public in general,and possibly
mistake. ' one's own client are going to
WASHINtION STATE� I am the director of public i be grumpy about.It's also one
1321 1 eWs defense for Mason County. of the lowest-paid ways to
Before anyone accuses me of practice law.
Washington State Bar News Submission Guidelines "meet and plead"tactics used The original caseloads were
Washington State Bar News relies on submissions from WSBA members by some overworked public certainly high.They were at
and members of the public that are of interest to readers.Articles should defenders,Mason County has the high end of what is doable
not have been submitted to any other publications and become the
property of the WSBA.Articles typically run 1,000-2,500 words.Citations one of the highest per-capita _ for a good attorney.Now my
should be incorporated into the body of the article and be minimal.Please jury trial rates in the state— 1 staff and I pride ourselves on
include a brief author's biography,with contact info,at the end of the
article.High-resolution graphics and photographs(preferably 1 MB in size) roughly 10 times that of King being good attorneys—and we
are requested.Authors should provide a high-resolution digital photo of County.We work our cases, '... handled it.Could they have
themselves with their submission.Send articles to wabarnews@wsba.org.
The editor reserves the right to edit articles as deemed appropriate. and we work them hard. ',I used some reduction?Possibly.
The editorial team may work with the writer,and the editor may provide We also keep our attorneys But was that the primary factor
additional proofs to the author for review.
at or near the maximum in the staffing crisis?Or did low
caseload limits allowed prior pay and the stigma associated
Washington State Bar News Advertising to the March 8 Board of with public defense also play a
To purchase Display Ads,Announcements,and Marketplace of
Professionals listings,or to receive a media kit,contact Ronnie Jacko, Governor's meeting. major role?
LLM Publications,at ronnie@llmpubs.com,503-445-2234. There is a shortage of Because the WSBA has
•
Classifieds:Advance payment required.See classified pages attorneys.And there are ., used a chainsaw where a
for rates,submission guidelines,and payment information. attorneys leaving public 1 scalpel would have served.It
Washington State Bar News is published nine times a year with
a current circulation of approximately 34,000. defense entirely.The caseload 1 has opted to fix the shortage
1M0A111 mOINEA1 II
of public defenders by Under(1)and(3),this state
drastically lowering caseloads. is ill-served.Either of those
For reference,had the 2027 decriminalizes...a lot.In a
standards been in place in recent criminal work group
2023,here in Mason County meeting,I suggested binge-
we would have entirely run watching the Purge movies and WEEK IS
out of available public defense taking notes.
attorneys in mid-to early- Under(2),our clients are
April.Roughly 70 percent of ill-served.Nobody should be APRIL 21-27, 2024
2023 felonies and 75 percent of held in custody for an extended
2023 misdemeanors would not period with no access to A ,
have had available counsel. counsel.But it is happening. 111.10 .%
In short,the WSBA has Different counties will
observed a problem with attempt to control the M
II II Ail
supply and has chosen to fix damage from this in different
it by quadrupling demand. combinations of the above,but it The WSBA honors
While I understand that many is entirely damage control.The
of us became lawyers because gutting of our ability to serve and appreciates o u r
math was not our strong suit,it our clients has left the state
should be apparent that this is without a functioning criminal ,0 0 0+ volunteer
not how markets work. justice system—and without the community.
In order to continue political will to rebuild one.
defending cases,Mason And the funding for all Thank you for furthering WSBA's
County now needs to increase of this falls squarely on the mission to serve the public and
its public defense staff.But counties.Which means the members of the bar, to ensure the
we can't.There are still no more rural counties are,once integrity of the legal profession
attorneys to be hired.So even again,hit disproportionately and to champion justice.
if we were able to get Mason hard with the problems.If King if
County to devote the required County is having problems Be sure tO thank a WSBA
additional 5 percent of its entire attracting attorneys—howiii
budget to public defense,we much more so Stevens or Ferry? volunteer for their hard work
wouldn't have the attorneys Where is Garfield County going and dedication.
to hire.They do not exist, to get their additional attorneys WAS H i N GT 0 N S TAT E
and no amount of money from?How in the world does
BAR ASSOCIATION
or leisure will cause their Okanogan County—already in
materialization. trouble—triple their staff? . . '
And this is true statewide. The WSBA has acted at i
So,what will happen? the whim of King County— ` :1., J
Well,we're about to see and sacrificed the rest of us ` W
one of three things happen. in doing so.Mason County 'r
Either(1)prosecutors will be has,as a result,gone from
forced to limit which crimes having an office to be proud
will be charged in order of to a criminal justice system
to accommodate defense teetering into crisis. �,;Ff
availability,(2)people will In short,the WSBA has ,r �. �
4
spend time in custody without given us a year to get our
w ,
the availability of counsel,or doomsday bunkers built before
(3)courts will begin dismissing the purge begins.
cases en masse on due process Peter Jones = A
grounds. Shelton
APRIL/MAY 2024 I Washington State Bar News 7