Clark County indigent defense attorneys are bracing for a big change in how they do their jobs after the Washington State Bar Association approved limits that would slash their caseloads by more than two-thirds.
The bar association’s board of governors approved new standards this month for indigent defense services, including caseload limits, in a 12-1 vote. The policy has yet to be scheduled for consideration by the Washington Supreme Court, which would codify it into court rule if it approves the new standards.
While attorneys and county officials recognize that indigent defense attorneys are overworked, they say this mandate would require triple the number of attorneys currently defending those accused of crimes in the area. It also leaves counties with the bill for drastically boosting staffing.
The current standards allow for Clark County indigent defense attorneys to handle 400 misdemeanor cases or 150 felony cases per year. The new standards slash that to 120 misdemeanors or 47 low-level felonies per attorney. The cap is even lower for higher-level felonies.
“My concern with that number is that when you’re picking one number for everyone, it doesn’t take into consideration a person’s experience level or expertise,” said Christie Emrich, who leads Vancouver Defenders, which is contracted with the county to handle felony and misdemeanor cases.
Emrich said the state bar association has been working for years on boosting public defense services. But she said these new standards don’t come with any additional funding for firms and counties to meet such significant reductions.
In a March 6 letter that the Clark County Council sent to the Washington State Bar Association, the council noted that the reduced caseloads would triple the county’s bill for public defense. The county spent $7 million on the services in 2023. The new standards would push that bill to $20 million, the council’s letter states.
“The county recognizes the need to improve Washington’s current indigent defense system, but the proposed changes would place a significant financial burden on Clark County given the lack of state funding for the state’s legal system,” the letter states.
Change ‘devastating’
The county is in the process of switching from indigent defense attorneys working on a contact basis to a public defense office with full-time staff attorneys. The move was, in part, aimed at reducing the county’s costs to pay the overburdened contractors.
Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik called the caseloads change “devastating to the criminal justice system.” He said the prosecutor’s office wouldn’t be able to function against what he called “an army of defense attorneys,” and he doesn’t know where all those lawyers would come from while other counties already face staffing shortages.
Golik said the change would make it harder for his office to retain prosecutors if they could instead become defense attorneys for the same pay but far less work. His office has 29 prosecutors who file about 2,000 felony criminal cases per year, putting each prosecutor at a caseload of about 70 felony cases annually.
“All of these things in the justice system, they’re three-legged stools, four-legged stools,” Golik said. “If you take one of the legs and you make it three times as long, well, it doesn’t work.”
The standards also call for the change to happen in phases, with the first step dropping attorneys down to 280 misdemeanor or 110 felony cases by July 2, 2025. By that date in 2026, attorneys will be limited to 225 misdemeanors and 90 felonies. In 2027, attorneys should reach the full contract limit, the standards state.
Office on track
Emrich said her office has seen its highest caseload ever in the last two months, and the severity of cases has also increased. She said each case requires more work than ever, especially because law enforcement agencies have begun submitting body camera footage as a part of their investigations.
Deputy County Manager Amber Emery said the state bar association’s move doesn’t yet change the county’s plans for implementing a public defense office, which she hopes to begin launching next month, with seven attorneys, including one supervisor.
