Washington state officials have finally freed up money for public lawyers who represent those who cannot afford attorneys, but they have a long way to go in proving they are committed to justice for all.

The state is spreading $3 million among counties that have struggled to finance basic legal services for low-income people. Spokane County is set to get about $2 million of that. That’s a sign that the state is moving in the right direction, but more needs to be done.

The public defender’s office in Spokane County has four secretaries for about 50 attorneys. Caseloads exceed the recommended levels of the American Bar Association. Even if the office could hire more workers, it would be hard-pressed to find room for them. Two current staffers are housed in the attic.

Alarmingly, the county is better off than most.

Rural counties simply cannot afford to offer an acceptable legal defense system because their economies cannot cover the expense and the state has traditionally picked up only 5 to 10 percent of the costs. Most states follow a 50-50 formula.

The result is that most counties have been forced to use a contract system, where attorneys’ fees are fixed regardless of how much time they spend on cases.

Because there is little incentive for attorneys to offer an adequate defense, many do not. Instead, they emphasize quantity over quality. Two years ago, one attorney in Grant County had 413 cases – nearly three times more than is recommended. Another attorney defended more than 1,000 people against felony charges. He didn’t win a case for six years.

Because of this shoddy defense system, many convictions in Grant County and others have been overturned, which triggers even more legal expenses. The state bar recommended abolishing fixed-fee contracts 33 years ago, and yet the disparity from county to county has been allowed to persist.

Washington state is dead last when it comes to the percentage of state funding for trial costs. State Supreme Court Justice Gerry Alexander has exhorted the Legislature to close this embarrassing funding gap, noting in 2005 that counties needed $25 million for the following two years.

So the $3 million that has been coughed up is nice, but it’s obviously not enough. And it’s not just a matter of priority-setting. When indigent criminal defendants don’t receive proper defense, higher courts step in and force state and local authorities to take action.

As Spokane County Public Defender John Rodgers said of the new funding, “I’m desperately hoping that people don’t regard it as the end of the problem, or that there isn’t going to be an ongoing need for attention to the plight of public defense.”

As long as lawmakers refuse to provide sufficient, consistent funding, the laws they pass will not be administered evenhandedly across the state.