Lewis County officials have voiced concerns over caseload limits for public defenders that they say could cost the county “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
In a statement Wednesday, County Commissioners Scott Brummer, Sean Swope and Lindsey Pollock said new caseload limits — or “standards” — adopted by the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) would reduce the maximum caseload for public defenders by two-thirds, which they said would lead to increased costs to the county.
The Washington state Supreme Court will hold a public hearing on the proposed standards on Sept. 25. As of Friday, details on the public hearing were not yet available. A second public hearing will also be announced at a later date.
“This drastic reduction in caseloads would have profound implications for Lewis County’s budget and the efficiency of our justice system,” Brummer said in a statement. “We support efforts to ensure adequate legal representation for indigent defendants, but these changes threaten to overwhelm our resources and disrupt the delivery of essential public services.”
According to data provided by the county, Lewis County spent between $1.3 million and $2 million on indigent defense each year between 2013 and 2022. Under the Sixth Amendment, counties must provide a publicly-funded defense for individuals charged with a crime who cannot afford legal representation.
The new standards adopted by the WSBA would be phased in over three years and would reduce misdemeanor caseloads from 400 cases annually under current guidelines to 200 cases by July 2027, while felony case limits would be reduced from 150 to 47 cases per year, depending on the case’s circumstances.
“Implementing these reduced caseload standards without corresponding state funding would force us to make difficult choices,” Swope said. “In the worst-case scenarios, we could be forced to cut critical programs, reduce staff, or even limit services that our community depends on.”
According to the commissioners, the county struggles to recruit and retain public defenders due to a high caseload and limited resources. Lewis County officials have urged lawmakers to address funding gaps and “bolster the public defense workforce pipeline” as it evaluates the new standards.
The new standards are slated to take effect on July 1, 2025.
“This is an example of an overbearing statewide group attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist in Lewis County,” Pollock said. “In our current system, very experienced attorneys are able to effectively and efficiently represent multiple clients. These experienced attorneys would be artificially restricted from utilizing their hard-earned skills due to low caseload requirements based on the capabilities of inexperienced attorneys. It is estimated that there are physically not enough attorneys in the entire state to achieve the caseload standards being proposed. Scarcity drives up costs. The end result will be crimes not getting prosecuted for lack of effective defense and a reduction in public safety.”
The commissioners have encouraged residents to submit public comments on the proposed changes by Oct. 31.
Comments are limited to 1,500 words and can be submitted to the Washington state Supreme Court by mail at P.O. Box 40929, Olympia WA 98504, or by email at supreme@courts.wa.gov.
