The chief justice of Oregon’s highest court made big statements about the state’s deepening public defense crisis. The justice said that the crisis has imperiled the prosecutions of people accused of serious crimes and more defendants are going without lawyers.
A correspondence was sent to legislative leaders and Gov. Kate Brown stating the state’s inability to provide defense lawyers has “a real impact on defendants who have a constitutional right to counsel, on courts’ ability to resolve cases, on the safety of our communities.”
The Legislature’s $12.8 million to hire public defenders has not solved the problem but also pointing to an exodus of experienced lawyers and the difficulty of hiring new ones was in the letter.
Multnomah and Washington counties, where workloads remain stubbornly high are the major counties. This is discouraging people from pursuing public defense work, according to longtime public defense officials that may agree that there is a crisis.
A series of summits will be held starting next week with the goal of addressing the crisis. Public defenders carry high caseloads, often face off against prosecutors who are better funded, and are underpaid.
Currently, 19 defendants are in jail without having a lawyer appointed to represent them with 150 facing charges but are out of jail waiting for the appointment of a lawyer. Another, 35 cases have been dismissed as a result of the defendant’s lack of legal representation, though those cases can resume later if the defendants are appointed lawyers.
