A non-voting member of the state commission that oversees Oregon’s troubled public defense system, Rep. Paul Evans, stated on Wednesday that he no longer trusts the agency’s director to address the thousands of criminal offenders who lack legal counsel.
Evans, a moderate Democrat from Monmouth, stated that he has suggested to the office of Governor Tina Kotek that the state declare this a true emergency and call in the Oregon National Guard.
In order to reduce the backlog and make a difference, Evans told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an interview on Wednesday that the Guard could supply attorneys, secretaries, and security for six months.
According to Evans, the Oregon Public Defense Commission’s executive director, Jessica Kampfe, has not addressed the escalating situation with the haste it requires.
“I have discussed my concerns regarding leadership with everyone who will listen,” he stated.
He claimed that the main reason we are failing is leadership.
Since 2022, Kampfe has been the Public Defense Commission’s executive director. Before managing Multnomah Defenders Inc., a nonprofit legal practice that offers defense lawyers in Portland, she worked as a public defender.
For years, the Oregon Public Defense Commission has been involved in crises. After battling Oregon’s former chief justice, its former director, Stephen Singer, was sacked. Kampfe took his place.
Kampfe reports to the 13-member commission, which was established by the governor and is chaired by lawyer Jennifer Nash. A note inquiring Nash’s opinion on Kampfe’s leadership was not immediately answered.
A request for response from Kampfe was likewise not answered.
Lawyers who represent impoverished defendants are compensated by the commission.These services are offered by freelance attorneys who take on public defense cases as well as nonprofit law firms like Portland and Hillsboro’s Metropolitan Public Defender.
Although the Legislature has invested much in public defense, the number of unrepresented defendants has not decreased as a result of these expenditures. According to state data, almost 4,300 individuals who have been charged of crimes do not have a record of representation.
According to the Judicial Department’s most recent count, there are around 150 criminal suspects incarcerated without attorneys.
Another non-voting member of the commission is Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a Democrat from Eugene. A request for comment was not immediately answered.
Evans is co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety and a well-known figure in public defense policy. Additionally, he is one of five senators that gather on a monthly basis to develop policy suggestions aimed at reducing the backlog of cases without public defenders, which has been running amok for years.
The public defense agency has come under heavy fire from Evans, who has called its six-year plan to meet the need for public defenders “bureaucratic jargon.”
He requested an analysis of the agency’s plan from the Oregon Judicial Department. According to that research, which was completed last week, it would greatly lengthen the unrepresented crisis’s duration and scale.
The commission’s proposal to address the situation calls for altering the state’s intricate public defender caseload management system, which is similar to the one that is already in use.
Depending on how serious the offense is, both set limits on how long or how many cases public defenders can take on.
According to a recent research, the suggested method considerably lowers caseloads for almost all sorts of offenses, even though both are meant to lessen attorneys’ workloads.
Evans also recommended running courts on the weekends and at night to expedite the processing of cases.
He remarked, “I don’t understand the agency’s complete lack of urgency.” Whatever patience I once have is gone.
A message requesting response on Evans’ idea and his lack of trust in Kampfe was not immediately answered by Kotek’s spokeswoman.
Criminal justice is the area of expertise for enterprise reporter Noelle Crombie. You can reach her at [email protected] or 503-276-7184.
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