The Supreme Court is in recess and will resume arguments in May. Opinions will nevertheless be issued and may be released this week on Thursday. Don't forget to check out our new Facebook page where we'll be posting news articles about the court that don't make it on the blog.
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Justice Richard Sanders has proposed new court rules for appointing counsel for indigent defendants.
The proposed rules provide minimal standards to be satisfied before a judicial officer may appoint an attorney to render services to an indigent person. These standards are contained in the Standards for Indigent Defense Services as endorsed by the Washington State Bar Association.
In a Seattle Times opinion column, Justice Sanders argues that a public defender's high caseload, minimal support staff, low compensation and other factors can result in a violation of a defendant's constitutional right to effective counsel.
Although this is a national problem, here in Washington it is particularly acute since our state constitution in Article I, Section I, plainly states it is the very purpose of our government to "protect and maintain individual rights."
When judges appoint lawyers who can't get the job done, the fundamental purpose of our government is defeated. Unfortunately, our Supreme Court has set no standards to guide the trial court in making these appointments other than he or she be a lawyer.
The comment period for the proposed rules is open until April 30, 2009.
The Washington Supreme Court publishes the rules necessary for governance of court procedure. An April 2, 2009 conference ordered several rule amendments published for comment.
Proposed Rules Published for Comment in May 2009
Admission to Practice Rules (APR)
15 Procedural Rules - Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection Procedural Rules
Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC)
(ELPOC)
Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC)
1.15A - Safeguarding Property
Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC)
Title15 - ELC Title15
Proposed Rules Published for Comment in January 2010
General Rules (GR)
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