Funding to meet public defender standards uncertain for 2027
EVERETT — Amid changing caseload standards for public defenders statewide, Snohomish County is prepared to cover the cost of the new standards in 2026.
As for 2027 — that remains up in the air.
In June, justices filed an order that reduced the number of cases public defenders handle in a year to around a third of the previous caseload limits. As of Jan. 1, full-time attorneys can handle 47 felony case credits and 120 misdemeanor case credits a year, based on their area of practice. Previously, the standards per year were 150 felonies and 400 to 300 misdemeanors, depending on whether the jurisdiction uses case-weighting.
In a June article, The Washington State Standard reported the Washington State Association of Counties said the new standards were “unattainable with the level of funding now available and due to a shortage of lawyers.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/funding-to-meet-public-defender-standards-uncertain-for-2027/