WA: going in-house in Grant County

Great news from the channeled scablands, from the Columbia Basin Herald:

Grant County creates public defender's department - Defense attorneys to be employees

Grant County is changing public defense into a county department. Grant County commissioners hired Rafael Gonzales to lead the Grant County Department of Public Defense...

Gonzales’ goal for the public defender’s system is to provide the best service for the client and get the best result possible. He said the county has pursued this goal. “I think that this office is the next step,” Gonzales said... “We are set to open the doors on March 1,” he said.