Washington State Office of Public Defense

Washington State
Office of Public Defense

Welcome to Washington State OPD

The mission of the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) is "to implement the constitutional and statutory guarantees of counsel and to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of indigent defense services funded by the state... ." RCW 2.70.005 as amended by Chapter 313 Laws of 2008. (View session law- pdf document). Established by the Legislature in 1996, OPD is an independent agency of the judicial branch. The 2008 Legislature permanently reauthorized OPD, based on the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC). (View full JLARC report- pdf document).

OPD administers state funds appropriated for the Parents Representation Program for dependency cases, appellate indigent defense services, and criminal trial indigent defense services.

Trial Level Services.
OPD administers a program for the improvement of trial level public defense, under RCW 10.101. This law provides for state funding to counties and cities to upgrade public defense services. For 2008 and 2009, the Legislature has appropriated $6.5 million per year to fund RCW 10.101 improvements.

County and City Chapter 10.101 RCW Application Procedures

Standards for Indigent Defense Services (pdf format)

2008 Status Report On Public Defense In Washington State (pdf format)

Public Defense Pilot Projects (pdf format)
An independent Evaluation

DWLS 3 Survey of Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (pdf format)

Appellate Services. OPD contracts with over 50 attorneys to represent indigent appellants in cases where federal and state constitutions and state statutes guarantee the right to counsel. Those cases include criminal cases, as well as other cases involving basic rights such as dependency proceedings, parental rights terminations, criminal contempt convictions, and involuntary civil commitments.

Parents Representation Program. OPD’s Parents Representation Program provides defense services to parents involved in dependency and termination of parental rights proceedings. OPD sets manageable caseload limits, implements professional standards of practice and provides access to expert and case support services, so that program attorneys can better assist their clients. The Parents Representation Program is established in 25 counties.

All OPD services are provided by a 15 person staff, consisting of the director, deputy director, social services manager, an Appellate Program manager, three Parents’ Representation Program managers, three Public Defense Services managers, an executive assistant, two administrative assistants, and two financial analysts.

Updated May 28, 2009

Privacy & Disclaimer Notice

Copyright © 2005 Washington State Office of Public Defense. All rights reserved
Evergreen Plaza Building - 711 Capitol Way South, Suite 106 - PO Box 40957 - Olympia, WA 98504-0957
360/586-3164 voice - 360/586-8165 fax
opd@opd.wa.gov e-mail