A shortage of public defenders in Multnomah County, where Portland is located, prompted local judges to throw out more than 200 felony cases since February, some involving alleged beatings of children and other violent assaults, a report shows. new analysis.
“The purpose of the court system is to get people the help they need,” Chris Day, a Tri-Met bus driver, told Oregon Live. “And if they don’t get the help, things are going to get worse.”
Day said earlier this year a bus driver gassed him after he refused to let her off half a block short of her stop. It was the third time he had been attacked by a passenger at work, he told the media shortly after the February incident. Day’s case is among dozens thrown out by judges this year.
“It’s unbearable,” Day said. “How can I describe it? You don’t know when the next attack will come. And you don’t feel protected.”
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“You don’t know when the next attack will come. And you don’t feel protected,” said a crime victim.
(iStock)
Oregon Live published a report this week that examined a list of 220 felony defendants and 75 misdemeanor defendants that judges have thrown out in the county since February due to a lack of public defenders.
The outlet noted that most of the cases involved accusations of carjacking, people running from police, or illegal possession of firearms. But other cases involved “personal crimes,” in which the suspects were accused of hitting, assaulting or threatening a victim in the county.
Portland Police Department patrol vehicle
(Portland Police Department)
Among the dismissed cases was one in which an 11-year-old girl, who was visibly swollen, told police she did not want to go home because her mother allegedly beat her, and another in which a real estate agent was left with seven broken bones. and a collapsed lung after being struck by a suspected drunk driver. The real estate agent was forced into early retirement after the accident, Oregon Live reported.
An American Bar Association report released in January found that Oregon has just 31% of the public defenders it needs to function effectively. Every existing lawyer would have to work more than 26 hours a day during the work week to cover the number of cases, according to the report.
Oregon’s public defense system is unique in that it is the only one in the country that relies entirely on contractors. Cases are turned over to large nonprofit defense firms, small cooperative groups of private defense attorneys who hire cases, or independent attorneys who can take cases at will.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt speaks to the media at City Hall on August 30, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
(Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Multnomah County Democratic District Attorney Mike Schmidt made the unprecedented decision last month to release all cases in the county dismissed by judges to highlight to the public the “urgent threat” posed by the public defense personnel crisis. stands for security.
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“This sends a message to crime victims in our community that justice is not available and their harm will not be addressed,” Schmidt said in a statement last month. “It also sends a message to people who have committed a crime that there is no accountability while the scarce resources of police and prosecutors are consumed.”
“He wants people to understand how important this is,” Elisabeth Shepard, a spokeswoman for Schmidt’s office, added at the time.
Schmidt told Oregon Live this week that he understands judges’ hands are tied to dismiss cases, but called the matter “horrible.”
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“It is awful. My lawyers are trying to explain this to a victim. It’s like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry, your case was dismissed because the defendant didn’t have an attorney.’ Where are the victim’s rights in that? … We have to have a lot of horrible conversations with people,” he told the outlet.
The downtown skyline and the Broadway Bridge are seen early in the morning on February 11, 2012 in Portland.
(George Rosa/Getty Images)
Schmidt added that he will refile charges if the public defender shortage is resolved, but would have to do so before the felony statute of limitations ends such a plan.
The executive director of the Office of Public Defense Services previously told The Associated Press that she will work with Schmidt “to address this systemic access to justice emergency.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the office Monday morning for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Oregon Live noted that Multnomah County is not alone in its public defender shortage, finding that 10 of Oregon’s 36 counties are experiencing similar staffing issues.
Associated Press contributed to this article.
