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12/22/2017 MINUTES 1 <br /> <br />COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES <br />KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON <br />COMMISSIONERS AUDITORIUM <br />SPECIAL MEETING <br /> <br />FRIDAY 12:30 P.M. DECEMBER 22, 2017 <br /> <br />Board members present: Chairman Paul Jewell & Vice-Chairman <br />Osiadacz. Excused: Commissioner Obie O’Brien. <br /> <br />Others: Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Doug Mitchell, <br />Deputy Prosecutor; Scott Sparks, Superior Court Judge; Candace <br />Hooper, Superior Court Judge; Darryl Ellis, Upper District Court <br />Judge; Diana MacKenzie, Upper District Court Administrator; Barb <br />Demory, Lower District Court Administrator; Greg Zempel, <br />Prosecutor; Sarah Keith, Superior Court Administrator; and 2 <br />members of the public. <br /> <br />SPECIAL MEETING PUBLIC DEFENSE COSTS SUPERIOR COURT <br /> <br />The meeting was moved from the Commissioners Conference Room to <br />the Auditorium due to the amount of seating needed for the <br />meeting. <br /> <br />At approximately 12:30 p.m. Chairman Jewell opened a Special <br />Meeting to receive an update from Superior Court on the costs <br />for Public Defense. <br /> <br />Scott Sparks, Superior Court Judge, provided a handout and <br />explained how the Superior Court is on the cusp of a crisis in <br />providing indigent defense to adults charged with felony crimes. <br />He provided a background of indigent defense since 1989 and the <br />system that they’ve been using which has been using a list of <br />willing Attorneys who’ve placed their names upon a list. The <br />system has compensated them on a per-case basis, with additional <br />funding being available for time spent in trial and for complex <br />or abnormally time-consuming cases. He indicated that as of <br />January 1, 2018 they will only have one attorney who has <br />expressed their willingness to take on regular appointments for <br />adult felonies. The caseload has been approximately 330-360 <br />adult felonies filed each year and the compensation they receive <br />is not competitive anymore. He reviewed various models which <br />governmental entities provide indigent defense and said they <br />would be in favor of offering contracts with attorneys. It was <br />noted that although there may not be an impact to the 2018