Office of Public Defense
| Average Annual FTEs | Near General Fund State | Other Funds | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||
| Current Budget | 71.5 | 167,449 | 19,056 | 186,505 |
| 2025-27 Maintenance Level | 71.5 | 167,951 | 19,094 | 187,045 |
| Difference from 2025-27 Original | 0.0 | 502 | 38 | 540 |
| % Change from 2025-27 Original | 0.0% | 0.30% | 0.20% | 0.29% |
2026 Policy Other Changes |
||||
| Adult & Juvenile Resentencing | 0.0 | 100 | 0 | 100 |
| Appellate Caseload Standards | 0.50 | 2,045 | 0 | 2,045 |
| Blake Response & SPAR Program | 0.0 | 1,900 | 0 | 1,900 |
| Parents Rep. Caseload Standards | 2.0 | 6,161 | 0 | 6,161 |
| 2026 Policy Other Changes Total | 2.5 | 10,206 | 0 | 10,206 |
2026 Policy Central Services Changes |
||||
| DES Central Services | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| GOV Central Services | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Legal Services | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| OFM Central Services | 0.0 | 88 | 0 | 88 |
| Self-Insurance Liability Premium | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| WTS Central Services | 0.0 | (2) | 0 | (2) |
| 2026 Policy Central Services Changes Total | 0.0 | 99 | 0 | 99 |
| Total Policy Changes | 2.5 | 10,305 | 0 | 10,305 |
| 2026 Policy Level | 74.0 | 178,256 | 19,094 | 197,350 |
| Difference from 2025-27 Original | 2.5 | 10,807 | 38 | 10,845 |
| % Change from 2025-27 Original | 3.5% | 6.5% | 0.20% | 5.8% |
Policy Changes
Adult & Juvenile Resentencing
OPD requests funding to provide counsel for persons who are eligible for criminal resentencing pursuant to a July 2025 decision of the Washington Supreme Court. State v. Lewis, 571 P.3d 1245 (2025) qualifies people for resentencing if their criminal history includes convictions from foreign jurisdictions. This request covers costs for 25 resentencing cases, including contract attorney services, travel, expert fees for mitigation, and release planning. RCW 2.70.020(3) authorizes OPD to provide counsel when the Legislature or appellate case law creates new bases to challenge a conviction or sentence. (General Fund - State)
Appellate Caseload Standards
The Office of Public Defense (OPD) requests funding to reduce caseloads for contracted attorneys who represent indigent clients on appeal to the Washington Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Given the Supreme Court’s recent orders to reduce public defense caseloads in other practice areas, OPD anticipates that the court will implement a rule reducing the maximum appellate caseload. A statewide appellate workload study recommends a reduction to 19 cases per year per full-time attorney. OPD seeks funding to implement a first phase, with a reduction to 25 cases per full-time attorney, to be implemented January 1, 2027. OPD also requests funding for 1 FTE program assistant to administer appellate contracts. (General Fund - State)
Blake Response & SPAR Program
OPD requests funding to sustain legal services related to the Supreme Court’s State v. Blake decision. The requested funding will allow OPD to continue coordinating the statewide response to historical Blake cases, including resentencing, commuting, and vacating unconstitutional drug convictions. The requested funding also will help OPD support counties and cities to ensure effective public defense for recently authorized drug possession charges, as provided in RCW 2.70.200 and OPD’s Simple Possession and Advocacy Representation Program. (General Fund - State)
DES Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Department of Enterprise Services for Capitol Campus costs; real estate, risk management, and small agency services; the Perry Street and Capitol Campus child care centers; enterprise applications, and other items. (General Fund - State)
GOV Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Office of the Governor for the Office of Equity. (General Fund - State)
Legal Services
Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated cost of legal services provided by the Office of the Attorney General. Funding provided in the central service model is not all inclusive, as legal services expenditures are based on consumption. (General Fund - State)
OFM Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Office of Financial Management for existing statewide applications, the One Washington program, and other central services. (General Fund - State)
Parents Rep. Caseload Standards
OPD requests funding to implement caseload limits for contracted attorneys who represent indigent parents in dependency and termination of parental rights cases, as the Washington Supreme Court has amended court rules governing family defense caseload standards. OPD also requests funding to expand prefiling legal representation for parents at risk of child removal and dependency court action. Prefiling representation typically reduces dependency filings and is expected to limit the number of additional contracted attorneys required in future years to comply with caseload standards. (General Fund - State)
Self-Insurance Liability Premium
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's share of actuarially projected costs of the self-insurance liability premium. (General Fund - State)
WTS Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from Washington Technology Solutions for the Office of Cybersecurity, the state network, enterprise services, small agency IT services, enterprise architecture and data management, Microsoft 365 licenses, and other items. (General Fund - State)