In Lewis County, we know what it means to show up for our neighbors. We fund emergency services, maintain critical infrastructure and deliver public health and safety programs with limited resources because our community depends on it.
But there is one responsibility we cannot meet alone: protecting the constitutional right to public defense.
Counties across Washington, including Lewis County, agree the current system for funding public defense is outdated, unsafe and unjust. It places an unsustainable burden on local governments and threatens public safety statewide. The Legislature must act.
When someone is accused of a crime and cannot afford an attorney, the U.S. and Washington state constitutions require that one be provided. Yet Washington state covers only about 4 percent of public defense costs. Most states fund at least 50 percent. That leaves counties like Lewis County – rural, resource-limited and already stretched thin – struggling to meet a state and federal mandate without the funding to do so.
This is not just a legal issue. It is a public safety issue.
Lewis County spent roughly $2,105,000 on public defense in 2025, with the Washington State Office of Public Defense contributing $110,691 and Lewis County taxpayers footing the bulk of the bill. For 2026, the costs are only expected to increase.
When courts cannot assign defense attorneys in a timely manner, judges face impossible choices: delay justice or release defendants. Either option harms victims, undermines confidence in the justice system and can result in people charged with serious crimes being released not because the charges lack merit but because the system failed to provide counsel.
The warning signs are already visible across Washington. In other counties, cases have been dismissed and defendants released simply because public defenders were unavailable. Lewis County is not immune. Without meaningful state investment, this same crisis will reach our courtrooms.
New caseload standards designed to ensure ethical and effective representation are colliding with a severe shortage of public defenders. At the same time, the cost of providing public defense has doubled since 2012 and is projected to double or even triple again. Lewis County is committed to doing its part but cannot recruit attorneys or absorb escalating costs without help.
Justice should not depend on where you live or how much you earn. Yet today in Washington, it often does.
Counties are doing everything they can to comply with the law, protect public safety and respect constitutional rights. But counties cannot fix a state-created problem on county budgets alone.
The Legislature must commit to funding 50 percent of public defense costs by 2031, beginning this session.
Any time a defendant goes without timely and adequate legal representation, public safety, constitutional rights and trust in the justice system are put at risk.
Voters, victims and defendants are watching. They are counting on state leaders to make this right. We are all counting on state leaders to make this right.
