It will cost the city about $250,000 more in 2015 to provide public defenders for people facing charges at Kent Municipal Court who cannot afford to hire attorneys.
The city is required by the state to provide indigent defense services for individuals unable to afford legal representation. The State Supreme Court recently ruled cities must limit caseloads for each full-time defense attorney to no more than 400 cases per year.
“I think you’ve heard several times about the new regulations that have come down from the State Supreme Court governing public defense and indigent counsel,” said Katherin Johnson, city human services manager, to the City Council’s Parks Committee.
A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the cities of Mount Vernon and Burlington resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that will require more attorneys and investigators in cases, Johnson said. The new regulations start Jan. 1.
“Everything we can do to meet the regulations we are doing,” Johnson said.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled in 2013 that the cities of Burlington and Mount Vernon violated the constitutional rights of people accused of crimes in the cities who could not afford to hire attorneys. A couple of private attorneys were handling more than 1,000 cases each per year. The Washington State Bar Association adopted guidelines to set the limit of 400 misdemeanor cases per year per attorney.
The council approved on Dec. 9 a new contract with the law firm of Stewart MacNichols Harmell Inc., of Kent, to represent people charged with crimes in Kent Municipal Court. The court handles misdemeanor cases, including assaults, thefts, prostitution, drunk driving and numerous other traffic offenses.
The city costs will be about $900,000 per year, an increase of about $250,000. The Municipal Court handles about 2,800 cases per year of people who cannot afford public defenders and whose costs are covered by the city, according to city documents. The city will pay the law firm $75,000 per month from Jan. 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2016 to cover the costs.
“We knew the cost was coming,” Councilman Dennis Higgins said. “We had a briefing in workshop about the lawsuit. It’s not unexpected.”
Editor’s Note: An updated version of the story clarifies that an estimated 2,800 indigent cases are handled per year by public defenders in Kent Municipal Court.
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