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OPD Model Case Weighting Policy - Misdemeanors <br />1. Purpose <br />This policy implements a system for weighting public defense cases for purposes of certifying to <br />public defense misdemeanor caseloads pursuant to the Washington Supreme Court's Standards for <br />Indigent Defense. This policy recognizes that appropriate case weighting allows reasonable <br />workloads for public defense attorneys consistent with applicable rules and standards. <br />2. Applicable Court Rules, Regulations, and Standards <br />A. Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct <br />B. Criminal Rules for Courts of limited Jurisdiction <br />C. Washington Supreme Court Standards for Indigent Defense (Standards) <br />3. Definitions <br />A. Administrator: the designated supervisor of public defense services: Sarah Keith, Superior <br />Court Administrator, Barbara Demory, tower Kittitas District Administrator, Diana MacKenzie, <br />Upper Kittitas District Administrator. <br />B. Case: the filing of a document with the court naming a person as defendant or respondent, to <br />which an attorney is appointed in order to provide representation. <br />i. In courts of limited jurisdiction multiple citations from the same incident can be counted <br />as one "case." <br />ii. The number of counts in a single cause number does not affect the definition of a <br />"case." <br />iii. When there are multiple charges or counts arising from the same set of facts, the <br />weighted credit will be assigned based on the most serious charge. <br />C. Case Weighting: the process of assigning a numerical value, or "weighted credit," to specific <br />types of cases that recognizes the greater or lesser attorney workload required for those cases <br />compared to an average case. <br />D. Caseload: the complete array of cases in which an attorney represents or provides service to <br />clients. <br />OPD Model Public Defense Misdemeanor Case Weighting Policy — 2019 <br />