Judge Dismisses Indigent Defense Lawsuit

On Friday, March 22, 2024, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp dismissed the Washington State Association of Counties’ (WSAC) lawsuit challenging the state’s public defense system. Unfortunately, this decision fails to resolve the underlying issue that Washington State is obligated to provide adequate public defense services. It remains necessary for the state to provide a statutory scheme and framework that ensures this obligation is met.

Despite acknowledging that “[t]here can be no dispute that there are serious challenges facing our system providing criminal indigent defense in this state and across the country,” Judge Zipp ruled that, “[c]ounties are not within the zone of interest, under the constitutional guarantees in question. The counties cannot assert claims premised on the right to counsel as those rights are held by individual indigent criminal defendants, not counties.”

WSAC and its co-plaintiff counties (Lincoln, Yakima, and Pacific) are disappointed with the outcome and disagree with the ruling. Most concerning is the state’s focus on procedural arguments to avoid addressing the case’s core issue. As Judge Zipp noted, the state’s delegation of public defense responsibility to local governments raises potential concerns under the Davison case, where the Supreme Court recognized a potential for state liability due to systemic deficiencies.

Despite the setback, WSAC remains committed to addressing this critical issue. WSAC will review all options with co-plaintiff counties, the WSAC Board of Directors, and legal counsel. This includes the potential to appeal the decision, refile a modified complaint, and explore other legal or alternative avenues to ensure adequate public defense services.

In the meantime, with both the state judicial and legislative branches ignoring the well-known and acknowledged failures of the state’s public defense system, counties face continued challenges in delivering a justice system upholding equal protection guarantees.