Public defenders

The number of Oregonians without counsel has reached an all-time high. Many fear the current crisis is eroding the trust and credibility of the state’s justice system.

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court called Oregon’s public defense system a “Sixth Amendment nightmare,” referencing the part of the U.S. Constitution that requires the state to provide defense attorneys to those it charges with crimes if they cannot afford a lawyer.

A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Oregon jails must release people from jail if they haven't been assigned a lawyer after seven days. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put a temporary hold on that order.

“The problem is institutional, and it is statewide,” U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane wrote.

The Oregon Supreme Court late Friday dismissed a case designed to force changes in the state’s troubled public defense system.

Attorneys with the Oregon Department of Justice say a case that cuts at the heart of the state’s overwhelmed public defense system – and that’s currently before the Oregon Supreme Court – could be moot because the attorney at the center of the debate has left his job. But they’ve stopped short of asking the justices to toss out the case.

A group of public defenders from Marion County asked the Oregon Supreme Court whether trial court judges can force an attorney to take an indigent defendant’s case. The justices will have to balance the legal protections for a person charged with a crime against the ethical obligations of a public defender.

In the latest development in Oregon's public defender crisis, U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane Tuesday ruled that anyone held in the Washington County jail without a court-appointed lawyer will be released 10 days after their initial court appearance.

Oregon’s Federal Public Defender filed a class action lawsuit arguing people charged with state crimes in Washington County are being unlawfully held because they’ve not been provided a lawyer.

Oregon lawmakers agreed to overhaul the state’s criminal defense system, but their solution left many unanswered questions about how to solve the crisis of thousands of people accused of crimes with no lawyer.

In a preliminary ruling, the Oregon Supreme Court found a state court judge erred by forcing a public defender to take a new client, over the objections of the lawyer's employer.

Senate Bill 337 would make sweeping changes to Oregon’s public defense system, though some worry it erodes independence