EVERETT — Lawmakers believe the public defense system in Washington is on the cusp of crisis.
And in Snohomish County, public defenders say that crisis will keep inching closer if nothing is done.
High student debt and low wages in the profession have led to fewer people entering public defense, a system already facing a lawyer shortage.
On top of that, cities and counties are left with the burden of paying for the public defense system, with little assistance from the state.
In 2022, Snohomish County paid over $11 million for indigent defense. The state contributed just $429,925.
“I can’t say it doesn’t help, but it’s such a small portion of our overall operating budget that its assistance is relatively minimal,” said Jason Schwarz, director of the county’s Office of Public Defense.
Washington is somewhat of anomaly, Schwarz said. According to the Sixth Amendment Center, more than half of public defense systems in the country are state-funded.
Currently, Washington covers just over 3% of the cost of indigent defense, according to the Washington State Association of Counties.
State Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, wants to move forward legislation to address the problem, by requiring the state pay for at least half of all public defense services in counties by 2028.
‘The price continues to rise’
In Franklin County, where Torres lives, the local government is strained as it tries to continue providing indigent defense services.
Like in many other fields, the pandemic exposed systemic shortcomings.
“The pandemic stopped the court system across the state and here in Franklin County,” said County Administrator Mike Gonzalez. “So we had a tremendous amount of cases that piled up.”
Once courts reconvened, the county couldn’t keep up, as caseloads grew and public defenders dwindled.
“We’ve had to use close to $1 million of American Rescue Plan dollars just to flood the gaps, and the price continues to rise,” Gonzalez said.
Kathleen Kyle, executive director of the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, said local courts have fared better than elsewhere. At the moment, her association isn’t understaffed, but she sees more challenges on the horizon.
“With increasing student loan debt, it’s harder and harder to recruit,” she said.
Kyle said being a public defender comes with a sense of purpose, but it can be hard to ask people to take on heavy workloads and a salary that doesn’t reflect the amount of student debt they carry.
Earlier this year, the state association of counties filed a lawsuit against the state, asserting the current system of indigent defense is unconstitutional and the state needs to provide adequate funding for the counties.
Torres’ legislation, Senate Bill 5773, would gradually increase the amount appropriated to counties by the state, beginning with 10% in 2024 and working up to 50% by 2028.
Schwarz thinks the ongoing lawsuit could inhibit some conversation around the bill.
Still, Kyle and Schwarz both hope to see the legislation move forward.
“I do want this to pass, I really hope it does,” Schwarz said. “I will be writing my legislators.”
‘We’ve got bigger value problems’
While Snohomish County isn’t facing a lawyer shortage, Schwarz senses his office may be in trouble in the coming years if more state funding isn’t secured.
The current caseload standards in the state are old, he said. The standards say full-time public defenders shouldn’t handle more than 150 felony or 300 misdemeanor cases per year.
Schwarz expects those standards to change in the next year or two.
Once they are implemented and workloads are reduced, the office will need more lawyers. That means it’ll need more money.
“If we don’t pay for public defense,” Schwarz said, “then we’ve got bigger value problems to start confronting.”
Funding and labor aside, lawyers and lawmakers are most concerned about people who need their services, often from the most marginalized communities.
Delays in getting counsel lead people to lose faith in the legal system, Schwarz said.
“You should lose faith at that point, because it has failed you,” he said. The system has “literally promised to give you something, and then not done it.”
The 60-day legislative session begins Jan. 8, where Torres’ proposal will be heard in the state Senate.
Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
