WA: Thurston County blues

The top story today from The Olympian's online edition -

Need an attorney? Get in line: County’s misdemeanor public defenders face daunting workload

With as many as three times the cases recommended by the Washington State Bar Association, Thurston County’s misdemeanor public defenders are the most overburdened in the state, according to the chairman of the state Bar Association’s committee on public defense.

The public attorneys who represent defendants in misdemeanor cases in Thurston County District Court handle as many as 900 cases per attorney each year...

The attorneys agree the workload has reached a ridiculous point. Public defender Kate Graham recalled the system at its worst: one day, she was scheduled for two trials at the same time. She tried to reschedule one, but was told she couldn’t. She chose a jury in one room, then dashed into another courtroom to choose the second jury. Sprinting between rooms to make her arguments made the grounds for a sitcom, but it wasn’t funny, she said.

“It was awful. That was the worst possible moment I had at this job.”