Chapter 2.33
OFFICE OF PUBLIC DEFENDER
Sections:
2.33.010 Office of Public Defender – Created.
2.33.015 Public Defender – License required.
2.33.020 Selection process – Term.
2.33.030 Compensation for conflict public defender.
2.33.040 Duties and standards.
2.33.050 Independent judgment.
2.33.060 Representation limited to Municipal Court.
2.33.010 Office of Public Defender – Created.
There is created the Office of the Public Defender to provide qualified legal counsel for indigent criminal defendants, entitled to representation by the Constitution of the United States or the state of Washington. The determination of indigence shall be made by the Municipal Court. The Office of Public Defender is not created in limitation of that function but to make available to the court one or more qualified persons where the right to counsel attaches to the defense of a criminal case.
The Public Defender provides effective assistance of counsel. Attorneys must, for example:
A. Interview the client and communicate throughout the case;
B. Carefully review evidence;
C. Conduct necessary investigations;
D. Obtain records;
E. Prepare for court appearances; and
F. Assess consequences of conviction. (Ord. C-926 § 1, 2019; Ord. C-875 § 2, 2016)
2.33.015 Public Defender – License required.*
Any person appointed to serve as Public Defender shall be an attorney duly licensed to practice law in the state of Washington. (Ord. C-926 § 2, 2019; Ord. C-875 § 3, 2016)
* Code reviser’s note: Section 3 of Ord. C-875 adds this section as 2.33.010. It has been editorially renumbered to avoid duplication of numbering.
2.33.020 Selection process – Term.
The City Manager shall retain one or more persons to serve as Public Defender. The Municipal Court, upon request of the City Manager, shall provide names of qualified attorneys that the Court reasonably believes have the skill and experience to provide legal counsel for indigent criminal defendants. The terms and consideration for the Public Defender services shall be established through written contract approved by the City Council (“contract public defender”). Where necessary and appropriate the Municipal Judge shall appoint a qualified attorney on a case-by-case basis. The words “necessary and appropriate” for the purposes of this section mean the Contract Public Defender is not available to provide legal representation or a conflict of interest exists such that separate legal counsel must be appointed in order to protect the interests of the indigent criminal defendant. (Ord. C-926 § 3, 2019; Ord. C-875 § 4, 2016)
2.33.030 Compensation for conflict public defender.
A person appointed by the Municipal Court to serve as conflict public defender shall not be paid more than $175.00 per case plus reimbursement of costs pursuant to RCW 10.101.030. Attorneys may motion the court for additional compensation for complex trials, motions and for expert witness and investigative services. (Ord. C-926 § 4, 2019; Ord. C-875 § 5, 2016)
2.33.040 Duties and standards.
A. The Public Defender shall exercise that degree of skill and knowledge required of other attorneys providing similar services and shall devote reasonable time and effort to the defense of the indigent defendant. To comply with RCW 10.101.030 as well as the Superior Court Criminal Rules (CrR) 3.1 and Limited Jurisdiction Court Criminal Rules (CrRLJ) 3.1 as amended, the Public Defender’s misdemeanor case load standards shall not exceed the representation of indigent criminal defendants in 400 cases for any calendar year (Alternative 1) or 300 cases per year as determined through a case weighting policy (Alternative 2). A “case” is defined at CrRLJ 3.3. A criminal case includes all filed charges arising out of the same incident.
1. Alternative 1. The case load of the Public Defender shall not exceed 400 misdemeanor cases per attorney per calendar year. The case count for the Public Defender who also engages in the private practice of law shall be adjusted to reflect the relative percentage of criminal defense cases in relation to the attorney’s total practice of law. For example, an attorney whose practice consists of 50 percent of indigent defense services provided to the City may not exceed 200 misdemeanor cases per calendar year.
2. Alternative 2. The case load of the Public Defender shall not exceed 300 misdemeanor cases per attorney per year as determined under a case-weighting policy. The City hereby adopts the Model Public Defense Case Weighting Policy for misdemeanors as adopted by the Washington State Office of Public Defense (“OPD Case Weighting Policy”), except as modified herein or by local practice. The Clerk of the Airway Heights Municipal Court shall maintain a copy of the OPD Case Weighting Policy, as modified by the City. Case credits for the purpose of case weighting shall be determined in accordance with the OPD Case Weighting Policy, as modified herein.
B. The Public Defender will not receive a case credit when: the court dismisses a case on the motion of the prosecuting attorney before legal representation has been assigned; the Public Defender services have been limited to explaining to the defendant the implication of the City Prosecutor reducing a criminal matter to a civil infraction; dismissal prior to first appearance of arraignment; a conflict of interest exists and the Public Defender voluntarily withdraws from the representation; or in the reasonable judgment of the Public Defender circumstances arose that eliminated the need to expend time and resources to resolve the case.
C. The City recognizes that certain types of misdemeanor cases require a limited amount of time and effort to ensure effective representation. Where a case satisfies a certain set of requirements, the Municipal Court has adopted administrative procedures and policies to expeditiously resolve those misdemeanors through stipulations and civil compromises that do not result in a criminal conviction. Such cases can include resolution through diversion, reduction to an infraction, stipulated order of continuance or other order that does not involve a finding of guilt; in Airway Heights Municipal Court such cases shall be accounted for at less than one-third full case credit.
D. Annually, the City Manager, Municipal Court, and Public Defender shall agree upon whether the case counting method will be based upon the total number of misdemeanor cases in a year assigned to the Public Defender or a numerical case weighting system as described in the OPD Case Weighting Model Policy. Such determination shall be reflected in writing between the City Manager, Municipal Court, and Public Defender.
E. The Public Defender shall comply with the requirement set forth in CrRLJ 3.1 and file a signed certification of compliance on a quarterly basis with the Municipal Court on the form set forth in the criminal court rules of the state of Washington. (Ord. C-926 § 5, 2019; Ord. C-875 § 6, 2016)
2.33.050 Independent judgment.
The Public Defender shall exercise independent judgment when providing criminal defense services to ensure effective legal representation. The Public Defender’s conduct shall conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct, case law and standards of the Washington State Bar Association. (Ord. C-926 § 6, 2019; Ord. C-875 § 7, 2016)
2.33.060 Representation limited to Municipal Court.
Unless otherwise required by law the Public Defender’s representation of a criminal defendant shall be limited to the Municipal Court. (Ord. C-926 § 7, 2019)