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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />Board of County Commissioners <br /> <br />AGENDA STAFF REPORT <br /> <br />AGENDA DATE: September 7, 2021 <br /> <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Set Public Hearing for September 21, 2021 to consider <br />proposed amendment to the Kittitas County Code provision <br />(KCC Chapter 2.09) pertaining to the process and standards <br />for appointment of criminal defense counsel for the <br />indigent. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: RCW 10.101.030 requires counties and cities to adopt <br />standards for the delivery of public defense services. The <br />statute has a list of the standards to be considered and <br />directs that the standards adopted by the Washington State <br />Bar Association (WSBA) should serve as guidelines to <br />local legislative bodies. KCC 2.09 was adopted in 2008 and <br />not revised since. <br /> The WSBA adopted revised “Standards for Indigent <br />Defense Services” on May 21, 2021. In a subsequent <br />meeting of the Judges of the courts in Kittitas County, this <br />revision was noted and recognized leading to a need to <br />amend KCC Chapter 2.09. Amendment was also required <br />to reflect changes in the manner of selection and <br />appointment of such counsel, and the introduction of <br />appropriate contracts for counsel in all of these courts. <br /> <br />INTERACTION: The judges requested assistance from their assigned <br />counsel in preparing an amendment to KCC 2.09 to reflect <br />the revision of the WSBA standards. The amendment also <br />had to reflect that under the current conditions of this <br />relatively small, rural county, the only entity able to <br />consider the applications of interested counsel and enter <br />into contracts is the judiciary and their administrative staff. <br />This is inconsistent with provisions of Standards Eighteen <br />and Nineteen, but reflective of the resources available and <br />the statutory prohibitions on the involvement of prosecutors <br />and law enforcement in this process pursuant to RCW <br />10.101.040. It is the position of the judges that the ethical <br />standards applicable to them provide adequate protection <br />from undue influence on appointed counsel. However, <br />changes in the current model need to be made to result in full <br />compliance with all of the new WSBA standards as soon as <br />possible. <br />