Opinion: Move past rhetoric to find real solutions to public defender crisis

Caitlin Plummer

Plummer is a member of Public Defenders of Oregon and the executive director of Public Defender Services of Lane County. Eugene is where she resides.

Kevin Neely just wrote an opinion piece for the Oregon Criminal Justice Truth Project, a new group (DA Vasquez is correct). On January 15, there is a work delay due to the public defense issue. Public defenders, he says, are deliberately taking on less work than they ought to. This charge disregards the ethical duties that all lawyers pledge to fulfill as well as the severe lack of public defenders in Oregon’s system.

Critiquing public defenders and playing the blame game is a tried-and-true strategy rather than a remedy. We require practical answers based on facts and our collective responsibility to defend the rights of every Oregonian.

The stakes are really high. Nearly 90% of Oregon defendants cannot afford legal representation, according to state data. These are our neighbors who barely make ends meet. They all deserve a fair trial and are presumed innocent. There may be dire repercussions if the technology malfunctions. Many Oregonians fear that even a day in jail may result in the loss of their house, their employment, or even their children. In addition to harming individuals, systemic failures jeopardize public safety and squander taxpayer dollars on pointless court proceedings and jail space.

In order to ensure that the process is equitable and runs well, public defenders are essential. The Constitution mandates that states provide sufficient public defense because of this. However, according to a 2021 American Bar Association report, Oregon only possessed 31% of the public defenders required to fulfill the constitution’s promise of fairly effective legal representation.

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Public defenders around the state are frantically attempting to fulfill a demand that is simply beyond their capacity. There is a confirmed scarcity of workers, not a work stoppage.

To truly address the manpower shortfall, we must carefully and thoroughly examine all available data as well as assertions about what the data indicates. Neely, for instance, compares Oregon to other states to make the case that the state currently spends too much on public defense. However, such comparisons are quite unreliable because systems differ significantly from one state to the next, not only in terms of who pays for public defense but also in terms of the costs that those needs cover. For instance, I am only aware of one state, Oregon, where the public defense system is required to compensate prosecutors for carrying out their ethical and legal duty to turn over evidence. Despite recent investments in Oregon, public defense has historically received inadequate funding both domestically and nationally, and it is currently attempting to catch up.

The nonprofit public defense offices are specifically targeted by the so-called Truth Project. However, these agencies immediately address the lack of public defenders by hiring and training the great majority of new hires. Additionally, hiring and educating new lawyers requires time and money, but it is essential to creating a long-lasting system. Due to heavy caseloads and low compensation in comparison to other legal professions, we continue to experience considerable turnover: in just 14 months, 25% of our attorneys departed public defense charities. Nonprofit defenders are actually routinely paid significantly less than prosecutors and other lawyers.

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Neely and other critics frequently focus on the caseload figures, which determine the maximum attorney capacity, completely missing the purpose. These figures are not a goal; rather, they represent an absolute cap on cases. It is unlawful to force defenders to take on more cases than they are morally capable of handling, and doing so will only worsen the situation by discouraging more lawyers from practicing law.

One essential component of the solution is public defenders, and nonprofit providers in particular. Lane County exemplifies this. My office is a nonprofit provider that handles around 80 percent of public defense cases here. Judges, prosecutors, and defenders have worked together to effectively rescue Lane County from the unrepresented dilemma. We recognize that a good system depends on a productive working relationship, despite the fact that we do not always agree. All members of the community receive high-quality representation, and our defense workforce is sustainable, thanks to predictable docketing, sensible charging procedures, and legislative initiatives that have also kept caseloads manageable.

Everybody wants to see the unrepresented situation resolved. When we look at things holistically, we notice affordable and easily accessible answers right away. To expedite the resolution of cases, increase access to treatment courts, set clear deadlines for discovery, redirect non-violent offenses, and dismiss cases sooner if they are about to be dismissed, we can create coordinated local reaction teams.

A just and efficient court system depends on public defenders. For the sake of our communities’ safety and well-being as well as the thousands of Oregonians who are entangled in the system, it is time to put aside hyperbole and concentrate on practical solutions.

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