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 guarantee of counsel and to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the indigent appellate services funded by the state.” RCW 2.70.005. 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’s Advisory Committee includes members appointed by the Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, the Governor, the Court of Appeals, and the Washington State Bar Association, in addition to two Senators and two Representatives selected from each of the two largest caucuses by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. OPD’s Director is appointed by the Washington State Supreme Court.

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.

Status Report on Public Defense in Washington State (pdf document)
Published 2008, reporting on calendar year 2007

Standards for Public Defense Services (pdf document), as updated and endorsed by the Washington State Bar Association on September 2007.

Appellate Services. OPD contracts with over fifty attorneys across the state, including three firms, to provide representation for 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 is established in 25 counties throughout the state.

OPD also provides consulting services for county and city officials on public defense contracts and other public defense issues.

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

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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