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