Title: An act relating to the office of public defense.

Brief Description: Modifying provisions relating to the office of public defense.

Sponsors: Representatives Lantz, Rodne, Pedersen, Linville, Appleton, Goodman and Kagi.

Brief History:

Judiciary: 1/16/08, 1/22/08 [DPS].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 10 members: Representatives Lantz, Chair; Goodman, Vice Chair; Warnick, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Ahern, Flannigan, Kirby, Moeller, Pedersen, Ross and Williams.

Staff: Trudes Tango (786-7384).

Background:

The Legislature established the Office of Public Defense (OPD) in 1996 as an independent agency within the judiciary. The OPD does not provide direct representation of clients.
The OPD was originally charged with administering state-funded appellate defense to indigent criminal defendants.

Over the years, the Legislature has expanded the OPD's duties to include:

• operating a grant program to assist counties and cities with their indigent criminal defense needs at the trial level;
• providing training and education for public defenders at the trial level;
• operating a program that contracts for representation of indigent parents in dependency and termination proceedings; and
• processing requests from counties to the Legislature for reimbursement for "extraordinary criminal justice costs," including indigent defense costs associated with aggravated murder cases.

                        
The Director of the OPD (Director) is appointed by the Washington State Supreme Court (Supreme Court). The Director is charged with administering all criminal appellate indigent defense services, submitting a biennial budget, establishing administrative procedures and standards for the program, and other duties.

An 11-member advisory committee provides supervision and direction to the Director. The committee consists of three members appointed by the Supreme Court, one member appointed by the Court of Appeals, two by the Governor, four by the Legislature, and one by the Bar Association. Except for the requirement to supervise the Director, there are no other duties explicitly listed in statute for the advisory committee.

The OPD is scheduled to terminate on June 30, 2008, under the Washington Sunset Act. The Sunset Act requires the joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to conduct a sunset review to assist the Legislature in deciding whether the OPD should be continued, modified, or terminated. The JLARC recommended that the Legislature should repeal the sunset and termination clauses and allow the OPD to continue without substantive modification.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

The sunset and termination clauses for the OPD are repealed.

Programs and services currently administered by the OPD are explicitly listed in statute. Those are: (1) trial court criminal indigent defense; (2) appellate indigent defense; (3) dependency and termination cases for indigent parents qualified for appointed counsel; (4) extraordinary criminal justice cost petitions; and (5) compilation of copies of DNA test requests by persons convicted of felonies.

Membership of the 11-member advisory committee is expanded to include:

• one person appointed by the Washington State Association of Counties;
• one person appointed by the Association of Washington Cities;
• one person appointed by the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; and
• one person appointed jointly by the Washington Defender Association and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court must appoint the chair of the committee.

Duties of the advisory committee are explicitly listed. The advisory committee must: (1) meet at least quarterly; (2) review at least biennially the performance of the Director and submit its review to the chief justice of the Supreme Court; (3) receive reports from the Director; (4) make policy recommendations to the Legislature and Supreme Court; (5) approve the OPD's budget requests; (6) advise the Director on administration and oversight of the OPD's program areas; and (7) carry out other duties authorized or required by law.

Other nonsubstantive changes to the statutes are made.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The substitute adds two more members to the OPD advisory committee to represent prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) The OPD operates very efficiently. This bill puts into statute all the programs the OPD already handles. The Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys has supported the OPD from the beginning. The OPD fills a gap in the judicial system. By monitoring the indigent criminal defense through their contracts, the OPD has improved the quality of public defense. There should be a member on the advisory committee to represent prosecutors.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Lantz, prime sponsor; Joanne Moore and Sophia Byrd McSherry, Office of Public Defense; and Tom McBride, Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.