An Oregon court could dismiss cases public defenders are too overworked to commit to, while over 900 people in Oregon’s court system are unrepresented
On March 15 the executive director of Marion County Public Defenders, Shannon Williams, asked to withdraw from a case at the Marion County Circuit Court, saying the public defense agency had too many cases to adequately represent their clients, breaching the American Bar Association’s ethical standards. “When a public defender says to a judge, I’ve got more cases than I can handle competently, that means I’ve got what we call in the law a concurrent conflict…
