Resolution 15-006 Adopts Indigent Defense Standards CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
SPOKANE COUNTY, WASHINGTON
RESOLUTION NO. 15-006
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY, SPOKANE
COUNTY, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING STANDARDS FOR THE DELIVERY
OF PUBLIC DEFENSE SERVICES PURSUANT TO RCW 10.101.030, AND
OTHER MATTERS RELATING THERETO.
WHEREAS, RCW 10.101.030 requires that the City adopt standards for the delivery of public
defense services to meet the needs of public defense service recipients for sufficient, accessible, high
quality defense services; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Supreme Court and Washington State Bar Association have
adopted minimum standards to establish guidance for local jurisdictions in meeting the statutory
requirements; and
WHEREAS, the City currently contracts with Spokane County for the provision of indigent
defense through the Interlocal Agreement for Public Defender Services in the City of Spokane Valley,
executed March 24, 2006; and
WHEREAS, Spokane County has adopted indigent defense standards for individuals charged
with misdemeanor crimes which are substantially similar to the standards contained herein; and
WHEREAS, at such time that the City may choose to provide these services by City staff, the
City could consider amending these standards accordingly.
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Spokane Valley, Spokane
County, Washington, that pursuant to RCW 10.101.030, the City Council hereby adopts the Spokane
Valley Indigent Defense Delivery Standards, attached hereto and incorporation herein, which may be
amended from time-to-time by subsequent resolution as may be appropriate or necessary.
This Resolution shall be effective upon adoption.
Adopted this 14th day of July, 2015.
City of kan- Valley
Dean Graf's, •46
ATTES;1{ _
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Approved as to Form:
c v
Office q the City Attorney
Resolution No. 15-006 Adopting Indigent Defense Standards
SPOKANE VALLEY INDIGENT DEFENSE DELIVERY STANDARDS
These Indigent Defense Delivery Standards are drafted based primarily upon the requirements of RCW
10.101.030, and the Standards for Indigent Defense, adopted by the Washington State Supreme Court on
June 15, 2012. Lastly, the Washington Public Defender Association has adopted standards to provide
guidance in those areas not specifically addressed by RCW 10.101.030 or the Washington Supreme
Court's Standards for Indigent Defense.
DEFINITIONS:
For the purposes of these Spokane Valley Indigent Defense Delivery Standards (Indigent Defense
Standards)the following terms, phrases,words, and their derivations shall mean as follows:
"Case" means the filing of a document with the court naming a person as defendant or respondent, to
which an attorney is appointed in order to provide representation. In courts of limited jurisdiction
multiple citations from the same incident can be counted as one case.
"Board"means the Board of Commissioners of Spokane County.
"Public Defender's Office" means the office of the Spokane County Public Defender, which is a
department of Spokane County, organized pursuant to chapter 36.26 RCW, and which provides indigent
defense service to the City of Spokane Valley pursuant to an interlocal agreement.
"Public Defense Attorneys" means attorneys employed in the Public Defender's Office or attorneys
employed in the separate department of Spokane County called Counsel for Defense.
"Public Defense Contractors" means attorneys who are not full-time permanent employees of the Public
Defender's Office or Counsel for Defense and who have agreed to represent indigent defendants which
the Public Defender's Office and Counsel for Defense cannot represent.
STANDARD ONE: COMPENSATION
Public Defense Contractors should be compensated commensurate with the complexity of the case
assigned and time required for the case. There may be provision for extraordinary compensation for cases
which require an unusual measure of time or expertise. The actual salary levels shall be set by Spokane
County.
STANDARD TWO: DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC DEFENSE ATTORNEYS
AND PUBLIC DEFENSE CONTRACTORS
Public Defense Attorneys' and Public Defense Contractors' primary and most fundamental responsibility
is to promote and protect the best interests of the client.
Representation to all clients shall be provided in a professional, skilled manner consistent with minimum
standards set forth by applicable Washington State Bar Association standards, the Rules of Professional
Conduct, case law, applicable court rules defining the duties of counsel and the rights of defendants in
criminal cases, and the American Bar Association.
STANDARD THREE: LIMITS AND TYPES OF CASES
Caseload limits and types of cases for Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractors
should allow each attorney to give each client the time and effort necessary to ensure quality
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representation. No Public Defense Attorney or Public Defense Contractor should accept workloads that,
by reason of their excessive size, interfere with the rendering of quality representation.
A Public Defense Contractor shall not allow his or her private law practice to interfere with the
representation of indigent defendants.
(A) Subject only to the considerations of this Standard Three, in a one-year period, no full time
Public Defense Attorney should be expected to handle more than 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.
Neither the Public Defender's Office nor the Counsel for Defense Office has adopted a
numerical case weighting system for misdemeanor cases.
(B) A Public Defense Contractor attorney should not be assigned more than a pro-rata share of
public defense cases in a one-year period, in proportion to that attorney's additional private
practice cases. For example, a Public Defense Contractor attorney with a public defense contract
of 150 misdemeanor cases per year shall not have more than a half-time private practice caseload.
(C) Supplemental standards adopted by the Washington Public Defender Association also address
the number of cases attorneys providing public defense services can effectively handle including,
but not limited to,the following:
(1)The severity and complexity of the case;
(2)The prosecutor's resources and practices;
(3)The location of the jail and courts relative to the attorney's office;
(4) The availability of diversionary tracks such as drug court, therapeutic mental health
court, and community relicensing programs;
(5)The docketing practices of the local courts;
(6)The definition of a"case;" and
(7)The availability of support staff and limited practice personnel.
The Public Defender's Office and Counsel for Defense utilize these supplemental standards in the
operation of their respective offices.
If the total number of cases handled by Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractor
attorneys considered together for a given calendar year exceed 110 percent of the caseloads specified in
this Section, or are less than 90 percent of the caseloads specified in this Section in a given calendar year,
then the Board and the Spokane County Public Defender shall confer and consider adopting various
strategies to address the increase or decrease in caseload.
As previously stated, neither the Public Defender's Office nor the Counsel for Defense utilize a case
weighting system for its misdemeanor cases, and thus,the City does not adopt numerical case weighting.
However,the Public Defender's Office uses an hourly calendaring system for the arraignment docket. At
the arraignment docket, defendants may receive an early resolution offer for diversion of the criminal
charges, or a reduction to a non-criminal infraction. In the event of an early resolution, the Public
Defender's Office utilizes an hourly calendar system whereby case counts depend on how many early
resolutions each attorney can handle on an hourly basis.
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STANDARD FOUR: EXPERT EXPENSES
Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractors shall have reasonable resources for expert
witnesses necessary for preparation and presentation of the defense of the case. Funds for expert
witnesses shall be maintained separately from funds provided for expert services. Public Defense
Contractors' requests for expert witness fees under Court Rule 3.1(f) may be made through an ex parte
motion. The defense should be free to choose the expert of its choosing and in no case should be forced
to select experts from a list pre-approved by either the court or the prosecution.
STANDARD FIVE: ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
Funding for the Public Defender's Office and Counsel for Defense shall include funding for
administrative costs associated with providing legal representation such as travel, telephones and
adequate telephone service, law library including electronic legal research, case management systems,
computers and software, office space and supplies, training, meeting the reporting requirements imposed
by the Washington State Supreme Court standards, and other costs necessarily incurred in the day-to-day
management of the offices.
Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractor attorneys shall have access to an office that
accommodates confidential meetings with clients, as well as a postal address.
STANDARD SIX: INVESTIGATORS
Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractor attorneys shall use investigation services as
appropriate.
STANDARD SEVEN: SUPPORT SERVICES
Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractors shall be adequately staffed with administrative
assistance and paralegals, as well as have access to mental health professionals and interpreters.
Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractors should seek to employ a minimum of one
administrative assistant for every four attorneys.
STANDARD EIGHT: REPORTS OF ATTORNEY ACTIVITY AND VOUCHERS
Attorneys employed by Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractors shall maintain a case-
reporting and management information system which tracks the number and type of cases, attorney hours,
and disposition of cases.
This information shall be available to the Washington State Administrator of the Courts. Provided,
attorneys employed by Public Defense Attorneys and Public Defense Contractors shall not be required to
provide any information that compromises client confidentiality.
STANDARD NINE: TRAINING
As a condition of being licensed to practice law in the State of Washington, attorneys are required to
attend at least 15 hours of legal training each year. For Public Defense Attorneys, at least seven training
hours each year shall be in criminal defense.
Public Defense Contractor attorneys should maintain updated manuals for specific areas of practice
within their offices, and shall document an orientation for newly hired attorneys.
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Public Defense Contractor attorneys should document at least five hours of required training annually in
the specific area of criminal defense being provided under the contract.
STANDARD TEN: SUPERVISION
The Public Defender's Office and Counsel for Defense should provide one full-time supervising attorney
for every 10 staff attorneys, and one half-time supervisor for every five attorneys.
STANDARD ELEVEN: MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ATTORNEYS
There should be a systematic procedure for monitoring and evaluating the performance of Public Defense
Attorneys and Public Defense Contractor attorneys.
Such evaluations should be performed by supervisors on a regular basis, be according to published
criteria, include review of time and caseload records, in-court observations, review and inspection of
transcripts where possible,review of case files, and should consider any comments of judges, prosecutors,
other defense attorneys, and clients.
Attorneys shall be evaluated on their skill and effectiveness as trial lawyers as well as their organizational
abilities.
STANDARD TWELVE: SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEYS OR ASSIGNMENT OF
CONTRACT
Public Defense Contractors shall not subcontract with another attorney or firm to provide representation,
and shall remain directly involved in the representation of assigned clients.
Public Defender Contractors shall provide the names and qualifications of the attorneys who will be
directly representing the clients to the Public Defender's Office, and ensure that such attorneys meet the
minimum requirements set forth in these standards.
Any agreement between the Public Defender's Office and Public Defender Contractors shall address the
continued representation of assigned clients at the expiration of the Agreement.
STANDARD THIRTEEN: LIMITATION ON PRIVATE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
CONTRACTOR ATTORNEYS
Public Defender Contractor attorneys shall be limited in the amount of privately-retained work which they
may accept, in proportion to the percentage of a full-time Public Defense Attorney caseload for which
they contract, pursuant to Standard Three above.
STANDARD FOURTEEN: QUALIFICATION OF ATTORNEYS
(A) In order to ensure that indigent defendants receive the effective assistance of counsel
to which they are constitutionally entitled, attorneys providing defense services shall meet at least
the following minimum professional qualifications:
(1) Satisfy the minimum requirements for practicing law in Washington as determined by
the Washington Supreme Court;
(2) Be familiar with the statutes, court rules, constitutional provisions, and case law
relevant to their practice areas;
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(3) Be familiar with the collateral consequences of a conviction, including possible
immigration consequences and the possibility of civil commitment proceedings based on
a criminal conviction;
(4) Be familiar with mental health issues and be able to identify the need to obtain expert
services; and
(5) Complete seven hours of continuing legal education within each calendar year in
courses relating to their public defense practice.
(B) Contempt of Court Cases. Each attorney representing a respondent charged with contempt of
court shall meet at least the following requirements:
(1)Minimum requirements set forth in subsection(A) above; and
(2) Each staff attorney shall be accompanied at his or her first three contempt of court
hearings by a supervisor or more experienced attorney, or participate in at least one
consultation per case with an attorney qualified in this area of practice.
(C) Specialty Courts. Each attorney representing a client in a specialty court (e.g., mental health
court, drug diversion court,homelessness court)shall meet at least the following requirements:
(1) Minimum requirements set forth in subsection(A) above;
(2) The requirements set forth above for representation in the type of practice involved in
the specialty court(e.g.,felony, misdemeanor,juvenile); and
(3) Be familiar with mental health and substance abuse issues and treatment alternatives.
(D) RALJ (Rules for Appeal of Decisions of Courts of Limited Jurisdiction) Misdemeanor
Appeals to Superior Court. Each attorney who is counsel alone for a case on appeal to the
Superior Court from Court of Limited Jurisdiction shall meet at least the following requirements:
(1)Meet the minimum requirements as outlined in subsection(A) above; and
(2) Have had significant training or experience in criminal appeals, criminal motions
practice, extensive trial level briefing, clerking for an appellate judge, or assisting a more-
experienced attorney in preparing and arguing an RALJ appeal.
STANDARD FIFTEEN: DISPOSITION OF CLIENT COMPLAINTS
The Public Defender's Office and Counsel for Defense shall promptly respond to clients who make
complaints and should keep a written record of the complaints and the response.
Complaints should be first directed to the attorney handling the case, then to a supervisor. If the
complaint cannot be resolved by the office to which it is issued, the complainant shall be informed of
other avenues including the courts or the bar association.
Agreements with Public Defender Contractors who accept conflict cases shall include a procedure to
respond to client complaints which meets this standard.
STANDARD SIXTEEN: CAUSE FOR TERMINATION OR REMOVAL OF ATTORNEY
Contracts with Public Defender Contractors should only be terminated prior to their expiration for cause,
which could include failure of an attorney to render adequate representation to the client, willful disregard
of the rights and best interests of the client, or willful disregard of the standards set forth herein.
Representation in an individual case establishes an inviolable attorney-client relationship. Removing an
attorney from a case should ordinarily not occur over the objection of the client.
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STANDARD SEVENTEEN: NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Public Defender's Office, Counsel for Defense, and Public Defense Contractors shall not discriminate
in violation of applicable state or federal regulations in their hiring practices to provide public defense
representation, in the attorneys selected to represent clients, or in their representation of clients.
STANDARD EIGHTEEN: GUIDELINES FOR AWARDING DEFENSE CONTRACTS
Contracts for public defense services may only be entered into with firms which meet accepted
professional standards, and include awarding only to attorneys who have at least one year's experience in
the jurisdiction covered by the contract, or to firms where at least one attorney performing the services
under the contract has at least one year's experience in the jurisdiction covered by the contract.
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