Can smaller caseloads help Washington fill its public defender ranks?

Too few public defenders and too many cases are stressing the criminal justice system in Washington, with counties struggling to ensure people accused of crimes, but unable to afford a lawyer, receive counsel as they are constitutionally guaranteed.

In less populated counties where finding private attorneys to fill the role can be difficult, cases are getting delayed or dismissed, leaving defendants and victims in the lurch.

Public defenders, prosecutors, judges and local government officials agree on the problem. But they disagree on whether shrinking public defender caseloads is the best immediate solution, as members of a Senate panel heard during a work session last week.

“The crisis is that the accused are going unrepresented, in criminal and in civil cases, throughout the state because of the shortage of public defenders,” Jason Schwarz, director of the Snohomish County Office of Public Defense, told the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/06/03/can-smaller-caseloads-help-washington-fill-its-public-defender-ranks/