OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington's long-strained criminal justice system is under new pressure as significantly lower caseload limits for public defenders threaten to slow prosecutions and force the state to spend millions more on legal defense.

The issue surfaced in December after the state bar association presented new caseload standards to lawmakers during a committee hearing, drawing concern from two Democrats and others who warn the changes could overwhelm courts and counties unprepared to meet them.

Public defenders and criminal justice advocates argue those standards are necessary to protect a system they say is stretched beyond what effective legal representation allows — urging the state to do more to support the public defense system before it collapses.

The question is how quickly, and at what cost, Washington should implement the rules. The new standards cap attorneys at 47 felony cases or 120 misdemeanor cases per year, a dramatic drop from previous limits of 150 felonies or 400 misdemeanors annually. The Washington Supreme Court is giving a 10-year phase-in to meet those standards, despite the defense bar's initial recommendation of a faster, three-year timeline.

Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, a former public defender, said he agrees there were “legitimate grievances” with previous caseload standards, but told The Seattle Times that cutting the caseloads by 300% “seems really extreme as a fix.”

Under the new standards, counties would either need about three times as many defense attorneys or see prosecutors file two-thirds fewer cases.

Salomon is not convinced that every county, particularly rural ones already struggling to recruit defense attorneys, can meet the new requirements and questioned whether the changes amount to “some kind of dismantling of the system through the back door.”

“I don't know what's going on here, but this doesn't smell quite right,” he said.

Jason Schwarz, director for the Snohomish County Office of Public Defense, said the standards are a response to chronic burnout and recruitment issues. Lower caseloads, he said, would help retain attorneys and attract new ones.

“If we don't have (statewide caseload standards), then each jurisdiction is competing against each other for public defenders,” Schwarz said. “King County will always win … They will always pay the most, they always have the best benefits, and they will always have the lowest caseloads.”

A landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Gideon v. Wainwright, established that the right to counsel in criminal cases applies regardless of a defendant's ability to pay, said Washington Supreme Court Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud. Washington courts, she said, recognized and protected that right even before the federal ruling.

Caseload standards for public defenders are not new in Washington, McCloud said, but they are necessary to uphold constitutional protections. The newly adopted standards, she said, grew out of what she described as the pre-pandemic "disaster" in public defense, as attorneys left the field because of low pay, excessive caseloads and a lack of respect for the work.

Public defense funding structures vary nationally, and Washington is among the states where local governments carry most of the financial burden. That system creates inequities, particularly in rural areas, said Derek Young, executive director of the Washington State Association of Counties.

Young said the state is failing to adequately fund its constitutional duty to provide defense attorneys — a shortfall he warned could lead to a public safety crisis if violent offenders are released because there are not enough public defenders available.

Washington spent $207.2 million on public defense statewide in 2024, Young said. During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers increased the state’s annual contribution from $5.3 million to $13.6 million, but Young said further increases are constrained by the state's budget shortfall.

“The system is going to break down, and the public is going to be furious,” Young added.

The issue could soon grow more complicated.

Last month, the state Supreme Court declined to review a 2025 appeals court ruling that found Washington counties have legal standing to sue the state for more public defense funding, which could force the Legislature to confront the issue during the session.

Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, also raised concerns about the updated caseload standards.

“You don't solve the problem of a lack of attorneys by tripling the problem,” Davis told The Times. She said she believes that a “legitimacy crisis” is emerging in the criminal justice system and that the balance of power has shifted away from victims.

Davis said she sees the defense bar as “chipping away” at the legal system — one that she believes defenders see as “deeply flawed and would like to dismantle,” with the goal of limiting prosecutors' ability to file cases.

Schwarz pushed back on that assertion, saying the standards appear dramatic only because public defense has gone neglected for so long. He said the Supreme Court would not have adopted them if they threatened to destabilize the legal system.

It is unfortunate that “public defenders cannot advocate for their needs and the client’s needs without being accused of sabotage," Schwarz said, likening the criticism to accusing firefighters who ask for more hoses of encouraging more fires.

Davis also accused the state Supreme Court of "rubber-stamping" court rules written by the defense bar and said the state’s highest court has unconstitutionally legislated through those rules. She said the structure is problematic because the court both proposes the rules then judges their legality.

McCloud dismissed those claims as “emotional criticism,” saying justices are “not permitted to start with emotions.”

“Everything we write to explain our court decisions is open in public,” McCloud said.

Davis has since introduced a constitutional amendment that would limit the state Supreme Court's authority to adopt court rules that encroach on legislative or executive powers, but the proposal has not been scheduled for a hearing.

Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, chair of the House Community Safety Committee, said staffing shortages exist across the criminal justice system, including among public defenders and prosecutors. While he said there is a genuine crisis in public defense, he noted that prosecutors' offices also need additional resources.

Despite last year's funding increase, Goodman said the state has “a long way to go.” He said the new standards seem to have a “rational basis” but are effectively unenforceable without additional legislative funding.

“I'm not going to blame the Supreme Court or assert that they did anything improper or rational or unworkable,” Goodman said. “It really is up to the Legislature to provide the funding to get this done.”

Goodman said he does not see room for additional funding but said lawmakers need to hold the line on last year's increase.

Lawmakers are expected to have a fierce debate over the proposed so-called "millionaires' tax this session, which, if approved, could provide an annual 5% dedicated revenue stream to help cover local defense costs.

Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said Tuesday that the proposal aims to respond to the high court’s new guidelines while giving counties flexibility in how to deploy resources. But Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, pushed back, saying Republicans support funding public defense services but prefer prioritizing it within the existing budget rather than relying on new revenue.

Russell Brown, executive director of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said the system is strained by shortages on both sides, as well as the fallout from the Blake decision, which found the state's felony drug sentencing laws unconstitutional, and recent resentencing laws.

Brown said preventing people from entering the criminal justice system in the first place could mitigate the crisis, but he also emphasized the deterrent effect of swift accountability.

He noted prosecutors have “strong objections” to the caseload standards, particularly how they were developed. Rather than studying individual counties, Brown said the standards rely heavily on a national study by Rand, a nonpartisan research organization, and closely mirror recommendations from the state bar.

“I’m not sure that every community needs what the Supreme Court approved,” he said.

Lawmakers have introduced other bills this session to address the issue. A slate of bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, and Rep. Adison Richards, D-Gig Harbor, would require counties and cities, where practicable, to adopt caseload standards aligned with Washington court rules rather than bar association guidelines; gradually increase the state's share of local public defense costs to 30% by 2031; and create a grant program offering up to $10,000 in student loan relief for prosecutors and defenders who commit to a year of service. Those bills have yet to advance. A bill to reinstate the indigent defense task force sponsored by Torres is on the Senate floor calendar.

Bipartisan bills introduced in 2025 would have shifted public defense funding responsibilities from local governments to the state but did not advance. It remains unclear whether those proposals will gain traction this session as the state continues to face a budget shortfall.

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