Public Defenders Respond to DA Vasquez’s Harmful Remarks on Public Defense Crisis

PORTLAND, OR – Newly sworn-in Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez recently referred to Oregon’s public defense crisis as a “work stoppage” in an OPB interview. AFSCME Locals 2805 and 3668, representing staff attorneys, investigators, case managers, legal assistants, and office staff of Multnomah Defenders, Inc and Metropolitan Public Defenders, refute this characterization as harmful and blatantly false.

A 2022 American Bar Association study found that Oregon has only 31% of the public defense attorneys needed to meet demand. In order to address the number of unrepresented people in the system, each attorney would have to work 26 hours a day. Labeling this crisis as a “work stoppage” ignores the reality of our current system and undermines the efforts of public defense staff.

“Our clients are the members of our community who are the most vulnerable to systemic injustice, and we work tirelessly to represent them fairly despite overwhelming caseloads,” says Madeline Kay, an investigator with Metropolitan Public Defenders. “DA Vasquez’s remarks are insulting to the hardworking people who do this incredibly important work, and simply not true.”

Public defenders handle many types of cases including misdemeanors, felonies, juvenile cases, evictions, and more. Their work includes not only representation in court but alsoconnecting clients to treatment programs and securing housing. Despite comparatively low pay and long hours, they remain committed to ensuring access to competent legal representation.

Public defense workers say the District Attorney’s office contributes to the crisis by failing to fully review evidence before charging cases or proceeding to trial, often resulting in last-minute dismissals.

“These inefficiencies waste our limited time and resources that we could instead be using to help the unrepresented" says Audrey Faunce, an attorney with Multnomah Defenders, Inc.

Public defense is a constitutional right according to both the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Oregon Constitution. Oregon’s systemic shortages demand collaboration and solutions, not misleading rhetoric.