Supreme Court To Hold Final Hearing on Defense Standards Nov. 13
Advance registration is required to testify in either format. The hearing will be live-streamed and recorded by TVW here.
The proposed changes to the Supreme Court’s adopted standards for indigent defense include lowering the maximum caseloads for public defense attorneys, revising some qualification requirements for public defense attorneys, and setting minimum support staffing requirements for public defense attorneys and offices.
The amendments to three Washington Court Rules were proposed by the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and its Council on Public Defense. “Public defense in Washington is facing a crisis of attrition and an inability to recruit staff brought about by excessive workloads and poor compensation. Attorneys are resigning from the public defense profession in droves because they cannot continue the work given the volume of cases,” wrote the WSBA and the CPD in a summary of the requested amendments.
Anyone interested may testify to the Court at the hearing either in person or remotely via Zoom. Those who wish to testify at the hearing are asked to follow these guidelines:
- Advance registration is required to testify at the hearing in person or via Zoom. Please follow the instructions to register here. Those who register will receive a Zoom webinar link — including those who registered to testify in person — and an email with additional important information about how to testify. Registration will close at 8 a.m. on Nov. 13 (one hour before the start of the hearing).
- Testimony should focus on responding to arguments that have been made for and against for proposed amendments, as opposed to repeating points previously made. Watch arguments made at the Court’s first public hearing on Sept. 25.
- To ensure that as many people as possible will be heard, participants should limit their testimony to three minutes.
Following the final public hearing, the Court will review all written comments submitted during the public comment period, which ended on Oct. 31, 2024, and all public testimony provided at the hearings as justices discuss the proposed amendments. The Supreme Court has the responsibility to review the proposed amendments and to decide whether to adopt them (in whole, in part, or with modifications) or to reject them.
There is no deadline for the Court to issue a decision, “but the Court is aware of the importance of the issue and the concern that all interested parties have about the standards,” said Justice Mary Yu, Chair of the Washington Supreme Court Rules Committee.
CONTACT: David Ward, Supreme Court Rules Committee staff, David.Ward@courts.wa.gov
