Attorney to monitor county's public defense system

Robinson selected to ensure Grant County in compliance with settlement

EPHRATA — A Seattle attorney selected by the American Civil Liberties Union and Grant County will monitor the county's public defender system for compliance with a settlement agreement reached in November of last year.

Attorney Jeffery Robinson's five- to- six-year assignment monitoring the county marks the first instance of a county's public defense system being subjected to comprehensive monitoring in Washington, according to an ACLU news release.

The ACLU and Columbia Legal Services filed a class-action lawsuit against Grant County in April of 2004 on behalf of people accused of felony crimes who cannot afford an attorney. The suit alleged Grant County public defenders carried excessive caseloads and didn't provide adequate funding for investigators and expert witnesses.

After settling, Grant County agreed to improve its public defense system and comply with standards endorsed by the Washington State Bar Association. To ensure compliance, the agreement called for a monitor who would be chosen by both the ACLU and Grant County.

Robinson, who is currently a criminal defense lawyer at Schroeter, Goldmark and Bender in Seattle, became the monitor last week.

To agree on a monitor, Grant County interviewed five attorneys picked by the ACLU. The county was able to eliminate three candidates. The ACLU chose Robinson from the remaining two candidates, said Grant County Commissioner LeRoy Allison. All five candidates reside in Western Washington.

Grant County Commission Chair Richard Stevens and other county officials interviewed each candidate for nearly an hour. Stevens said Robinson was their second choice for the position. The ACLU passed on Grant County's first choice, he said.

Robinson brings a considerable amount of experience in indigent defense to the new monitor position, Stevens said.

"He has a better understanding of what's necessary to come over here, look at our system, and give us the expertise to tweak things," Stevens said Monday. "We needed someone to come in here and smooth out any bumps we might have."

Robinson is scheduled to monitor compliance for the next five years, with the potential for a sixth year, Allison said.

Robinson's fee is $300 per hour, Stevens said, but he was not sure how many hours Robinson would be working each year. Stevens anticipates the first year will be the most expensive.

Most counties in Washington do not have standards Grant County will be complying with. Before the April 2004 suit was filed, Allison said the county had 80 percent of the improvements and new standards already in place.

He listed several different items he believes Grant County was addressing before the ACLU and Columbia Legal Services filed their suit.

For one, Allison said the county was enforcing caseload limits, with a "soft cap" of 204 felony cases annually for public defenders. The ACLU, however, wanted the attorneys limited to 150 felony cases each year, which Allison said the county currently meets.

Prior to the suit, Grant County's public defenders were no longer paying for investigators or expert witnesses out of their own pockets, Allison said. Previously, when public defenders did not pay for witnesses and investigators, they kept the funds.

Grant County was also making an effort to have public defenders present at a defendant's first court appearance, Allison said. Today, defendants in Grant County are always represented when they see a judge for the first time, Allison said.

Kittitas County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Cooper ruled in October of last year defendants still had a well-grounded fear of not receiving effective legal counsel. Judge Cooper noted some improvements had been made with the 2005 public defense contract, but said problems in the system still existed.

Since the settlement, attorney Alan White moved from a part-time supervisor position for the county's public defenders to a full-time supervisor for 2006.

On Monday, Allison said Grant County signed a contract with a second interpreter in an effort to improve public defender's communications with their clients.

Both Allison and Stevens are hopeful Robinson can complete his monitor work in less than five to six years.

Stevens said Robinson didn't see why the monitoring process would last that long. That became one reason why county officials settled on Robinson as one of the final two candidates, he said.