Public defenders

The ruling could force the dismissal of more than 1,400 criminal cases.

Public defenders have long argued they are overworked and underpaid, but the state says it's making progress.

The latest budget is a signal from state lawmakers that they want to ensure the current dollars are being spent wisely.

Despite leadership changes and legislative fixes, Oregon has for years failed to provide attorneys to everyone charged with crimes.

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.