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Public defender crisis hits state courts
A severe shortage of public defenders across Washington state is forcing courts to dismiss cases and release suspects without trial, prompting local counties to sue the state for adequate funding.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington’s public defense system is facing a crippling shortage of attorneys, driving high burnout rates.
Former public defenders say the grueling demands of the job have become unsustainable, forcing many to abandon the practice entirely.
"I left public defense two years ago, and the reason I left was because I was sure that it would kill me," said Ramona Brandes of the Washington Defender Association. "I was routinely working 12- to 16-hour days, including on weekends."
The state Supreme Court in 2025 mandated drastic caseload reductions, but the constitutional mandate will take a lot more funding, which some say the state is neglecting to do.
Under the new rules, the maximum cap dropped from 150 felony and 400 misdemeanor cases per year to just 47 felony and 120 misdemeanor cases.
Fewer cases, fewer funds
The Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys stated that while they support lighter caseloads for public defenders, they view the Supreme Court’s cuts as drastic and unrealistic under current challenges. The group expressed concern that the changes will lead to increased backlogs and more unresolved cases.
The constitutional mandate includes a 10-year implementation window, which requires caseloads to drop by 10% of the target goal each year.
Chief Justice Debra Stephens told FOX 13 Seattle last year that she recognized the significance of the ruling, but that the current system needed to be fixed.
"We recognize that this isn’t something that will be solved overnight, and it’s going to take a partnership of everyone involved — the courts, the cities, the counties, the public defense entities, the state bar," Supreme Court Justice Debra Stephens said.
WA needs more public defenders
Still, reaching that standard requires hiring many more public defenders, which requires significant funding. Thus far, state lawmakers have failed to provide financial relief.
"The legislature has had multiple opportunities to provide public defense funding, but so far, they haven't given any solution," Brandes said.
In the state's recently passed "millionaires tax," the original Senate version of the bill devoted 7% of its revenue to public defense, but that funding was stripped out of the final version. Currently, Washington is an outlier among states in how little it contributes to public defense, footing less than 4% of the bill.
The financial burden, consequently, falls to counties and cities. Local officials warn that when there are not enough public defenders, cases get dismissed, and people accused of serious crimes are released with no accountability.
"We have cases, a murder trial in Spokane County, for example, that is being delayed because their public defender's office says that they don't have the hours to provide public defenders for it," said Derek Young with the Washington State Association of Counties. "We saw, you know, serious felonies, violent felonies in the Tri-Cities area and Yakima, be set loose because they couldn't find representation for them."
A ‘constitutional crisis’ in WA, critics warn
Young called the situation a constitutional crisis that will soon become a public safety crisis.
"What you're seeing in those more remote counties in central and eastern Washington, it will become a statewide issue in the near future," Young said.
Young’s association has sued the state in an effort to force the legislature to provide more funding for public defense. The lawsuit was filed in Thurston County Superior Court in 2023.
In a twist of irony, Young noted that the lawsuit itself has been delayed due to a lack of funding for that specific court.
"So it is a little funny that we end up with a situation where the state's underfunding of the criminal justice system is slowing down our lawsuit over the state's underfunding of the criminal justice system," Young said.
The trial for that lawsuit is set for late 2027.
Before that happens, lawmakers will return to Olympia for the next legislative session in January.
FOX 13 Seattle reached out to Governor Ferguson’s Office about where they stand on public defense funding but the office never responded.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle anchor Hana Kim.