The Office of Public Defense (OPD) has asked the court to restrict assignments of new clients to public defenders unless their current open caseload is below 60 percent of the state’s current caseload limits. OPD has also asked the court to order a 90-day moratorium on the assignment of new felony out-of-custody clients to public defenders beginning Jan. 1, 2024. “The state criminal public defense system is in crisis,” said OPD Director Larry Jefferson. Read the full memo here.