Jim Murphy, Maryann Moreno and Robert C. Boruchowitz: Public defender offices need more staff for justice and fairness

Anyone watching television police shows knows that you have a right to a lawyer, and if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you. Yet the increasing complexity of what is required to provide an effective lawyer, and the increase in the number of cases have threatened the ability of public defenders to provide that constitutionally required representation.

It has been 63 years since the U.S. Supreme Court clearly established that right on March 18, 1963, in Gideon v. Wainwright. Clarence Earl Gideon told his trial court that he was entitled to a lawyer to defend him in a burglary case. The Florida trial court refused, but the Supreme Court reversed and when Gideon had a lawyer in a new trial, he was found not guilty.

In Spokane, the county and the city have public defender offices that work hard for their clients. But since the court’s decision, the advent of body camera footage, other surveillance cameras, cellphone tower evidence and other scientific developments have made the practice more complex and time-consuming.

A national public defense workload study and new Washington State Bar Association standards have made clear that defenders for too long have been expected to carry too many cases. The crushing caseloads and the lure of higher paying work with less stress in the private sector have led to attrition in the County Public Defender office and the Counsel for Defense office.

The new Washington State Bar standards and the Washington Supreme Court’s recent orders on defender caseloads recognized the increasing demands on public defenders. The bar standards set caseload limits and standards for the use of investigators and social workers. The court rules set caseload limits and require that the reduced caseload standards be implemented “as soon as reasonably possible,” permitting a phased-in schedule. The court ordered that “failing to implement annual reductions is contrary to implementation “as soon as reasonably possible.”

Sometimes, defender investigators help prove that the police have charged the wrong person, and juries will find the client not guilty. Often, defenders can fashion sentencing alternatives that can address underlying issues of mental health and substance abuse while still holding the accused person accountable. Defenders’ work can lead to reduced costs for incarceration and to reduced recidivism.

None of the Spokane defender offices have social workers. The state bar calls for them and increasingly it is recognized nationally that social workers are key to effective defender representation.

The county defenders have been aiming since July 2025 to implement phase 1 of the bar standards which call for a maximum of 110 felony case credits per lawyer per year. They had been at 150 cases before that. Credits are allocated by complexity. A “low level” felony is accorded one case credit; a murder 7 credits. A DUI is 1.5 misdemeanor credits.

The city public defender lawyers had been assigned up to 350 misdemeanor cases per year. The WSBA standards call for no more than 280 misdemeanor case credits as of July 2025. The court rules require annual reductions to reach the limits of 47 felony case credits or 120 misdemeanor case credits by Jan. 1, 2036.

Increasing defender staff to meet standards will require increased budgets. Increased state funding and greater development of diversion alternatives can reduce the local fiscal impact of adding the necessary staff.

A national focus group study found that 61% of the participants supported spending more tax dollars to provide public defense. This could be in part because one-third of Americans have a criminal record and nearly everyone knows someone who has been charged with a crime, whether it is minor in possession of alcohol, shoplifting, DUI or a serious felony.

It also is because Americans care about fairness, and having an effective lawyer to defend a person against the government’s charge is at the root of a fair criminal justice system. The court in Gideon wrote:

… any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. … Governments, both state and federal, quite properly spend vast sums of money to establish machinery to try defendants accused of crime. … The right of one charged with crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to fair trials in some countries, but it is in ours.

Investments in public defense are truly investments in public safety and in protecting the integrity of the judicial system. As we commemorate the 1963 Gideon decision, we should support public defense.

Jim Murphy and Maryann Moreno are retired Spokane Superior Court judges. They both live in Spokane. Robert C. Boruchowitz, of Seattle, is professor from practice and Director of the Defender Initiative at Seattle University School of Law.