IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENTS TO THE STANDARDS FOR INDIGENT DEFENSE AND CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE FORM FOR CrR 3.1 (d)(4), JuCR 9.2 (d)(1) and CrRLJ 3.1 (d)(4)

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ORDER NO. 25700-A-1023

     WHEREAS under CrR 3.1 (d)(4), JuCR 9.2 (d)(1) and CrRLJ 3.1 (d)(4), and the Certification of Compliance Form, public defense attorneys are required to certify that they comply with the applicable Standards for Indigent Defense Services on a quarterly basis; and

     WHEREAS the implemented quarterly certification schedule is October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1; and

     WHEREAS the Certification of Compliance Form at Section 2(d), Caseload, and Section 2(e), Specific Qualifications, identify effective dates of September 1, 2013 rather than October 1, 2013; and

     WHEREAS the effective date for Standards for Indigent Defense 3.4, Caseload Limits, should be in conformance with the certification schedule;

     Now, therefore, it is hereby

     ORDERED:

     That the effective dates of Certification of Compliance Form Section 2(d) and Section 2(e) be changed to October 1, 2013.

     IT IS FURTHER ORDERED

     That the effective date for Standards for Indigent Defense 3.4 be changed to October 1, 2013, EXCEPT for misdemeanor caseload limits, which have an effective date of January 1, 2015.

     DATED at Olympia, Washington this 23 day of May, 2013.

	For the Court
	Madsen, C.J.
	CHIEF JUSTICE

     The certification must be in substantially the following form:

     1. Approximately _____% of my total practice time is devoted to indigent defense cases.

     2. I am familiar with the applicable Standards adopted by the Supreme Court for attorneys appointed to represent indigent persons and that:

     a. Basic Qualifications: I meet the minimum basic professional qualifications in Standard 14.1.

     b. Office: I have access to an office that accommodates confidential meetings with clients, and I have a postal address and adequate telephone services to ensure prompt response to client contact, in compliance with Standard 5.2.

     c. Investigators: I have investigators available to me and will use investigation services as appropriate, in compliance with Standard 6.1.

     d. Caseload: I will comply with Standard 3.2 during representation of the defendant in my cases. [Effective September October 1, 2013 for felony and juvenile offender caseloads; effective January 1, 2015 for misdemeanor caseloads: I should not accept a greater number of cases (or a proportional mix of different case types) than specified in Standard 3.4, prorated if the amount of time spent for indigent defense is less than full time, and taking into account the case counting and weighting system applicable in my jurisdiction.]

     e. Specific Qualifications: I meet the specific qualifications in Standard 14.2, Sections B-K. [Effective September October 1, 2013.]

Defendant's Lawyer, WSBA No.	Date

     Standard 3.4. Caseload Limits. The caseload of a full-time public defense attorney or assigned counsel should not exceed the following:

     150 Felonies per attorney per year; or

     300 Misdemeanor cases per attorney per year or, in jurisdictions that have not adopted a numerical case weighting system as described in this Standard, 400 cases per year; or

     250 Juvenile Offender cases per attorney per year; or

     80 open Juvenile Dependency cases per attorney; or

     250 Civil Commitment cases per attorney per year; or

     1 Active Death Penalty trial court case at a time plus a limited number of non-death-penalty cases compatible with the time demand of the death penalty case and consistent with the professional requirements of Standard 3.2; or

     36 Appeals to an appellate court hearing a case on the record and briefs per attorney per year. (The 36 standard assumes experienced appellate attorneys handling cases with transcripts of an average length of 350 pages. If attorneys do not have significant appellate experience and/or the average transcript length is greater than 350 pages, the caseload should be accordingly reduced.)

     Full time Rule 9 interns who have not graduated from law school may not have caseloads that exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the caseload limits established for full-time attorneys.

Standard 3.4 adopted effective September October 1, 2013, EXCEPT paragraph 3, misdemeanor caseload limits, adopted effective January 1, 2015.

     Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.