Despite recent reforms to the state’s public defender system, Oregonians still lack access to justice. Currently, more than 3,600 Oregonians face charges but do not have an attorney, including more than 150 detained without access to an attorney. This is an affront to our constitutional guarantee of legal representation for all.

Public defender offices like mine are needed because nearly 80 percent of all people charged in Oregon cannot afford an attorney. Until recently, state contracts for defense utilities encouraged high caseloads, leaving little time spent working for clients. Like all of us, public defenders want a safe and prosperous community. We are committed to public service and justice and will not tolerate past practices that fail our customers and community members.

The stakes are incredibly high. For most Oregonians, even 24 hours in jail can be destabilizing. Being convicted of a crime can mean serving up to a year in prison, and often also leads to job loss, separation from children, loss of housing, and disrupted access to healthcare. health. The cascade of negative consequences can lead to a downward spiral rather than a path to justice.

To each client, a public defender must be more than a warm body. Public defenders review hundreds of pages of documents and forensic reports, and analyze hours of video, cell phone and computer data, and various forms of digital evidence. We independently investigate charges against our clients, sometimes wait hours to visit our clients while they are detained, and communicate with their loved ones. This work takes time and is necessary and fundamental. When an attorney is assigned more than 100 cases at a time, as is often the case, it becomes impossible to provide adequate and responsible representation to everyone we serve.

Due to decades of disinvestment, Oregon ranks near the bottom in adequate public defense. Over the past two years, state lawmakers have made significant reforms that have started to make a difference. However, we still have work to do to ensure that everyone has adequate legal representation. The state’s elected leaders can address long-standing inequities in the criminal justice system through smart investments to support the recruitment, training and retention of public defenders.

The state’s criminal justice system suffers from high turnover in nonprofit public defender offices. A recent survey found that our offices have lost 65 attorneys since July 2023 alone, a turnover rate of 24.6%. Advocates cite unsustainable workload, job stress, burnout and uncompetitive salaries as reasons for leaving. When experienced attorneys leave, it creates a vicious cycle for the public defenders who remain, with serious consequences for our overall ability to handle serious cases and train new hires.

Nonprofit public defender offices have historically served as the primary training grounds for new attorneys in this difficult area of ​​law. Law school simply does not prepare students for public defender work. Oregon’s nonprofit public defenders understand this and are investing heavily in training and supporting newcomers. We must develop a strong public defense workforce to meet Oregon’s pressing needs.

It is important to note that public defenders, prosecutors, and judges all have a role to play in ensuring that our limited resources are not exhausted by unnecessary cases. Currently, the system is hobbled by fast and loose charging practices, poor settlement offers, massive underutilization of treatment courts, and inequitable access to diversion options and dismissal programs.

Public defenders spend months preparing for trials only to have the charges against their clients dismissed at the last moment. We are not using scarce public resources wisely, blocking an attorney’s limited time to prepare for a trial that could have been resolved months ago. Not only is this frustrating for affected citizens, but it adds to the frustration and sense of overwhelm, forcing attorneys away from public defense work.

We cannot have a fair, efficient, and just legal system for all without having a sufficient number of qualified public defenders. By addressing the root causes of unreasonable caseloads and high turnover, and ensuring the standards of ethical representation required of attorneys, we can strengthen our public defense system and uphold the constitutional rights of all residents of the ‘Oregon.