Public Defenders of Marion County File Emergency Suit to Protect Constitutional Rights and Block Harmful Quota System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

October 1, 2025

SALEM, Ore.—Public Defenders of Marion County filed an emergency lawsuit Tuesday against the Oregon Public Defense Commission challenging the enforceability of the proposed state contract for public defense. Under the terms of that contract, it would be impossible in most instances for public defenders to effectively protect and preserve their client’s constitutional rights. 

The lawsuit centers on the public defense contracts for 2025-2027, which take effect today. Those contracts institute a new quota system for public defender caseloads that is based on an antiquated and thoroughly discredited caseload standard developed more than 50 years ago. In the lawsuit, Public Defenders of Marion County (PDMC) asks the court to enjoin Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) from enforcing that quota provision, and asks instead that the quota provision be replaced by the up-to-date, evidence-based national standards that OPDC previously had adopted.

“Everyone deserves quality legal representation, whether they can afford a lawyer or not,” said Shannon Wilson, executive director of PDMC. “That's what the Constitution promises and what justice requires. The proposed state contract for public defenders undermines our legal system. It will increase the number of people facing life-changing consequences with an attorney in name only. And, it will force qualified attorneys out of the workforce, making the crisis worse. When public defenders are forced to take more cases than they can competently handle, people without financial resources simply do not receive equal justice under the law.”

"This contract is clearly unenforceable," said Joshua Krumholz, lead counsel for PDMC.  Krumholz is a partner at the international law firm of Holland & Knight, and has significant experience representing public defenders carrying excessive workloads. “The court system has the fundamental responsibility of making sure that all stand equal in the eyes of the law and that justice is served in its courts. Clear standards exist that tell us when public defenders have exceeded their capacity. The state chooses to ignore those standards, as well as the Sixth Amendment, Oregon law, and the Oregon rules of professional conduct."

Under the new quota contract, the state would eliminate funding for four PDMC attorneys and one supervising attorney position.

The new contract would also force PDMC and other public defenders to assign new cases to attorneys who already carry full caseloads. This approach would especially overload misdemeanor and minor felony attorneys. For instance, the quota system would require attorneys to handle 300 misdemeanor cases a year, allowing just 5.26 hours, on average, for each misdemeanor case. That average doesn’t include the number of cases attorneys already have on their plates.  The new evidence-based national standard, on the other hand, would allow 14 to 22 hours, on average, to get to resolution, depending upon the type of misdemeanor charged.  

One of the reasons for those additional hours is because the national standards take into account the increasing complexity of the criminal system, where public defenders now need to sort through body cam footage, scientific testing and digital evidence, among many other areas. 

Nearly 90 percent of people facing charges in Oregon qualify for a public defender, according to the Oregon Judicial Department. Because of poor working conditions caused by excessive caseloads, public defenders will leave the system, taking up a new profession or going to states like Washington, where the state Supreme Court recently adopted the national standards. When Marion County judges implemented forced appointments in 2023, for example, PDMC lost 13 attorneys in 11 months – over 60% of their criminal defense team.

Numerous federal and state laws govern public defense and the ethical responsibilities of attorneys, including the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. and Oregon Constitutions and ORS 151.216, which requires effective assistance of counsel and evidence-based workload standards.

Filing Materials

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