Oregon defendants without lawyers should be released from prison, US appeals court says

PORTLAND, Oregon. A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a ruling that Oregon defendants must be released from jail after seven days if they do not have a defense attorney.

In its ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called Oregon’s public defense system a “Sixth Amendment nightmare.” OPB reported, referring to the part of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees people accused of crimes the right to an attorney. The opinion said Oregon is responsible for upholding legal protections for criminal defendants.

Oregon has struggled for years to solve its problems public defender crisis. As of Friday, more than 3,200 defendants did not have a public defender, an Oregon Judicial Department dashboard showed. Of those, about 146 people were in custody, but fewer people were expected to be affected by Friday’s decision, according to OPB.

A preliminary report from the Office of Public Defense Services in March found that Oregon needs 500 additional lawyers to meet its obligations, OPB reported. State authorities have sought to resolve the issue, notably by taking measures such as granting additional funding, but structural issues remain.

Next year, the Oregon Public Defense Commission will transition from the judicial branch to the executive branch under the governor. State lawmakers hope the measure will provide more support for the agency.

The 9th Circuit ruling upheld an injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane last year. The case came from Washington County, where 10 people accused of crimes and detained in the county jail, although they had no court-appointed attorneys, filed a class-action habeas corpus petition through the state’s federal public defender’s office.

Oregon Federal Public Defender Fidel Cassino-DuCloux said Friday’s ruling “breathes life into the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, which has been an empty promise for many presumably innocent Oregonians accused of crimes.” ”.

“We hope state officials will heed the Ninth Circuit’s instructions that no one remain in prison without a lawyer and implement the decision without delay,” Cassino-DuCloux wrote in a statement.

When asked by OPB whether the state would appeal, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Justice said it was reviewing the ruling.