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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2022
Chief justice fl oats summit to address public defense crisis
By CONRAD WILSON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon’s Supreme Court
chief justice wants gov-
ernment leaders to come
together to address systemic
issues driving the state’s
deepening public defense
crisis.
Chief Justice Martha Wal-
ters, who leads the state’s
judicial branch, asked legis-
lative leaders and Gov. Kate
Brown in a letter Tuesday to
help plan a summit to fi nd
solutions for public defense
and public safety.
“I envision the s ummit
as a way for us to discuss
and agree on longer-term
changes to our public
defense and public safety
systems to make them stron-
ger and more eff ective,” Wal-
ters wrote.
Since last fall, a shortage
of public defenders has left
hundreds of indigent criminal
defendants without an attor-
ney — a right aff orded by
the U.S. Constitution that the
state has violated repeatedly.
Oregon contracts its entire
trial-level public defense
systems to groups of attor-
neys and nonprofi ts. With
courts operating in a limited
capacity during much of the
pandemic, caseloads for pub-
lic defenders have built up to
the point those lawyers are
unable to take on new clients.
Courtney Sherwood/Oregon Public Broadcasting
A view of the Multnomah County Courthouse.
In Washington County, 11
people in custody are without
an attorney, court staff said
Wednesday. In Multnomah
County, more than 260 peo-
ple are without an attorney.
Of those, 22 are in custody.
While public defense is
highly decentralized in Ore-
gon, it’s run by the Offi ce
of Public Defense Services,
largely through securing and
paying contracts to public
defense fi rms. The offi ce is
part of the judiciary. Walters
is responsible for appointing
the commission members
who hire and oversee the
agency’s executive director.
The lack of public defend-
ers has exposed the role they
play in the state’s public
safety system.
In Multnomah County,
judges have dismissed 35
cases, over the objections of
prosecutors, because the state
has been unable to provide a
public defender, according to
a memo dated Tuesday from
the district attorney’s offi ce.
Many of those defendants
could still be indicted later
by a grand jury.
“Only the most serious
person crimes are moving
forward,” the memo states.
The offi ce “is unable in any
meaningful manner to pros-
ecute felony crimes other
than the most serious person
crimes.”
In a recent op-ed pub-
lished in T he Oregonian ,
Multnomah County District
Attorney Mike Schmidt said
that prior to the pandemic,
the county’s C ircuit C ourt
would hold 25 to 30 jury tri-
als per week. During the last
two years, the county has
averaged three to fi ve.
“The backlog of cases
will take years to resolve,
and in the meantime, prose-
cutions are taking far, far lon-
ger than they did prior to the
pandemic,” Schmidt wrote.
“Evidence gets stale. Vic-
tims move on or move away.
Memory becomes foggy.
Justice is delayed, if not
denied.”
Leading up to the sum-
mit, Walters said she’ll host a
series of meetings with pros-
ecutors, judges and public
defenders starting next week.
She said the state needs to
move faster to address its
“immediate crisis.” Her fi rst
meeting will be next week in
Multnomah County where,
she noted, a lack of staffi ng at
the sheriff ’s offi ce has made
it challenging to assist with
attorney-client visits “critical
to case resolution,” as well as
transporting people in cus-
tody to court hearings.
“The current crisis is hav-
ing a real impact on defen-
dants who have a constitu-
tional right to counsel, on
courts’ ability to resolve
cases, on the safety of our
communities,”
Walters
wrote.
The public defense cri-
sis has been most acute in
Multnomah, Marion, Wash-
ington and Lane counties,
where lawmakers targeted
$12.8 million at the last leg-
islative session to hire more
public defenders and support
staff . In her letter, Walters
wrote, “providers have found
it more diffi cult than antici-
pated to do that hiring and are
also facing the unanticipated
loss of experienced counsel.”
“I would say that’s very
true,” said Jessica Kampfe,
the executive director of
Multnomah Defenders Inc.,
one of two public defense
nonprofi ts in the county. “We
hired two lawyers, planning
to use the funds as well as
an investigator and support
staff . We were on our way to
hiring a third (attorney).”
At the same time, more
experienced attorneys are
leaving.
“In the last month, I’ve
had fi ve lawyers quit,”
Kampfe said. “I can’t hire my
way out of this problem if I
can’t stop the bleeding.”
Caseloads and staffi ng
challenges have prevented
her offi ce from taking new
clients charged with felonies
since February. On Mon-
day, Multnomah Defenders
Inc. and Metropolitan Public
Defender, the largest public
defense nonprofi t fi rm in the
state, will temporarily stop
taking new clients charged
with misdemeanors in the
county.
Child care: ‘There’s a lot of merit and great benefi ts to both proposals’
Continued from Page A1
right fi t at the time. They
looked at ways to expand in
their space on 10th Street,
and when they discovered
it was not feasible, they
decided to send the city a
proposal.
Bumble, which off ers a
preschool program and sum-
mer camps, has proposed
taking over the Sprouts
facility at the Astoria Rec-
reation Center and existing
enrollment and off ering pre-
school and child care with
expanded hours as soon as
July .
Atkinson expects to
serve 20 to 40 children
at the start, then gradu-
ally grow to include infant
care. She said they would
likely move over the rest of
their services by the end of
summer.
Bumble is requesting
the city assist with build-
ing upgrades and off er the
space rent free for the fi rst
fi ve years.
“There really is no way
we can aff ord a space that
large on our existing pro-
grams,” Atkinson said, add-
ing that the cost would also
keep them from being able
to hire another employee.
Atkinson also expects to
raise rates, saying that the
city’s rates were too low to
be sustainable. However,
she hopes to partner with
Preschool Promise, a state
funded preschool program
that makes services avail-
able to low-income families.
“As we move along, we
‘I THINK, NEITHER OF THESE PROPOSALS, UNFORTUNATELY,
ARE GOING TO BE THE END-ALL, BE-ALL SOLUTION FOR
CHILD CARE IN ASTORIA AND OUR AREA. B UT IT IS A GOOD,
POSITIVE STEP ANYWAY. SO, I AM HAPPY FOR THAT.’
Jonah Dart-McLean | Astoria’s parks director
feel confi dent that it will be
a good step for us if it goes
through,” Atkinson said.
Astoria Head Start, a fed-
erally and state funded pre-
school program for low-in-
come families, operates at
Gray School in Astoria and
provides care for about 40
children.
Grace Robinson, the
Head Start center man-
ager, said they are unable to
expand the program at the
campus and have had diffi -
culty fi nding other options
in Astoria. Gray School is
also expected to undergo
renovations, making the
preschool space unusable.
“The overall goal for us
is to continue to strengthen
the partnerships that we
have in our community but
also to build on the services
we provide for our fami-
lies now,” Robinson said.
“A change in location could
help us create an early child-
hood center.”
She said they are pro-
posing to shift their opera-
tions to the city’s space at
the Astoria Recreation Cen-
ter and partner with another
provider to off er care for
infants and toddlers.
Head Start is also request-
ing building improvements
from the city.
Dart-McLean said that
depending on how the City
Council wants to proceed,
he would work with a pro-
vider on a negotiated lease
agreement, which would be
presented to the c ouncil for
review.
The city has said it can
support a child care pro-
vider through a partnership
by removing common bur-
dens like the cost of rent
or assist with other things
needed to start and maintain
longevity.
Financial challenges
When the city requested
proposals in October from
parties interested in forming
a public-private partnership,
there were no responses by
the December deadline. In
the days following, an inter-
ested group approached the
city and formed into the
nonprofi t Clatsop Promise.
The nonprofi t sought to
raise funds to operate while
the city continued to own
and maintain the facility,
but ultimately determined
the plan was not fi nancially
viable.
The city opened Sprouts
Learning Center a decade
ago to meet a need in the
community. It remains one
of the few of its size that
provides care for infants.
The closure of the day
care is one of a series of set-
backs for child care in the
county, which has lost over
half of its licensed child
care capacity — more than
1,000 slots — since 2017.
However, Dart-McLean
is hopeful.
“We are in a good spot
where there is interest from
the community from dif-
ferent groups in provid-
ing some sort of child care,
and there’s a lot of merit
and great benefi ts to both
proposals,” he said. “Still I
think, neither of these pro-
posals, unfortunately, are
going to be the end-all,
be-all solution for child care
in Astoria and our area.
“B ut it is a good, positive
step anyway. So, I am happy
for that.”
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Bike ban: Council will discuss topic in May
Continued from Page A1
In March, after hearing
safety and environmental
concerns, city councilors sug-
gested adding language to the
city’s parks master plan to ban
bicycles along the path.
At that meeting, City
Attorney Peter Watts said
when donations were solicited
for the Ridge Path, it was pre-
sented as a walking path. He
also said bicycles could create
a legal liability for the city.
But in correspondence,
residents pointed to the tradi-
tion of bikes on the path and
their health advantages, urg-
ing the City C ouncil to drop
the ban.
Skyler Archibald, a resi-
dent who serves as executive
director of the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District
in Seaside, said development
of recreation opportunities
is one of the characteristics
that make a community liv-
able and inclusive. “I strongly
object to the notion of ban-
THE MAYOR
WILL SEEK AN
ALTERNATIVE .
FOR NOW, THE
WORDING
‘FOOTPATH’
WILL REMAIN
IN THE PARKS
MASTER PLAN
FOR HISTORICAL
PURPOSES.
ning bicycles on the Ridge
Path,” he said. “Limiting rec-
reation opportunities for the
citizens of Gearhart, partic-
ularly young people, is an
injustice to those that need
less barriers to participation,
not more.”
Penny Sabol, a resident,
said her parents bought a cot-
tage on the Ridge Path when
she was a child.
“One of the most won-
derful memories in my life
is traveling that path to Little
Beach on our bikes to spend
the day playing with our
friends,” she said. “We would
travel the path, once again on
our bikes, to Cutler’s Grocery
to buy penny candy and then
just tool around town.
“Now, I have young grand-
children just entering the age
to enjoy the Ridge Path. I
want them to have the happy
memories I have enjoyed. I
urge you to please not pass
this ordinance.”
Rather than an ordinance,
Cockrum said she would
work with staff on some
improved signs, particularly
on Third Street.
The topic will return at
a City C ouncil work ses-
sion in May, at which time
the mayor will seek an alter-
native . For now, the wording
“footpath” will remain in the
parks master plan for histori-
cal purposes.
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