MRSC Insight Blog

Posts for Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

Fewer Teens May End Up in Adult Courts

August 20, 2018 by Leah LaCivita
Category: Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

Signed into law this March, SB 6160 reduces the number of criminal offenses under which youth defendants aged 16- to 17-years-old can be automatically sent to adult court to have their cases tried.

Indigent Defense Standards – Misdemeanor Caseload Limits Take Effect Soon

November 21, 2014 by Bob Meinig
Category: Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

On January 1, 2015, the misdemeanor caseload limits for public defense attorneys adopted by the Washington State Supreme Court in the new Standards for Indigent Defense take effect. The court had in 2013 delayed the implementation of the caseload limits until that date, to provide time for...

Court Rules Cities' Public Defense Systems Constitutionally Inadequate

December 5, 2013 by Bob Meinig
Category: Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

A federal district court judge ruled on December 4th that the public defense systems provided by the cities of Burlington and Mount Vernon violated the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment guarantee of effective assistance of legal counsel to indigent persons charged with crimes.

Access to Justice – State Courts Must Waive All Fees for Indigent Civil Litigants

June 12, 2013
Category: Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

Several years ago, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a court rule (General Rule (GR) 34) that abolished court fees for low-income people. After enactment of GR 34, state courts waived filing fees for indigent litigants. However, some courts imposed their own local surcharges. This practice of adding local...

Caseload Limits for Indigent Defense Standards Delayed Until January 1, 2015

April 10, 2013 by Bob Meinig
Category: Courts, Criminal Justice and Corrections

As part of the new Standards for Indigent Defense, caseload limits were to take effect on September 1, 2013, while the rest of the standards took effect on October 1, 2012. However, the state supreme court has now delayed the implementation of caseload limits until January 1, 2015, to provide time for the Washington State Office of Public Defense to conduct a "statewide attorney time study" and...