(soft music) (dramatic music) - Welcome to "The Newsfeed."

I'm Paris Jackson.

Some Washington defense attorneys say they're dealing with a crisis that's impacting how they're able to do their jobs as public defenders.

The state's criminal justice system is facing caseload backlogs and staffing shortages.

Cascade PBS Investigative Multimedia Reporter Jaelynn Grisso has more on why public defenders say they're stretched and a proposal that could help alleviate the situation.

- [Jaelynn] Carnissa Lucas-Smith came back to Seattle, her hometown, after law school to work as a public defender because, for her, doing this work in a place that she knew just made sense.

But after four years as a public defender, she says she didn't really see a place for herself.

- The pressure just felt like I couldn't do anything right because there was just so much going on and so little time.

- [Jaelynn] She says trying to find a balance played a role in her decision to leave the job.

- Because whenever you're working on one case, you're taking time away from another case.

- This is one of the reasons the Washington Supreme Court is weighing new standards for defense attorney caseloads amid what many call a crisis in public defense.

- If you don't pass these standards, they won't do these jobs.

- For proponents, the heart of the issue is giving public defenders enough time to adequately represent indigent defendants.

- Well, would you like to go to prison for your whole life because the public defender didn't have enough time to research your case?

- The existing standards limit a public defender to handling about 150 cases a year, which includes serious charges such as murder.

A national study found the current standards allow an attorney about 14 hours on average for each felony case.

Attorneys representing defendants on minor, misdemeanor charges may handle a few hundred cases a year.

Those standards were adopted in 1973 and haven't been updated nationally since.

Washington did an update in 2012, but technological advancements like the need to review video footage have made many cases more time-intensive than in decades passed.

The newly proposed standards would reduce that annual caseload cap by about two thirds for felony cases and more than half for misdemeanor cases.

The new standards would be phased in between now and July, 2027.

Opponents have raised a number of concerns, including the potential local cost of hiring more defense attorneys.

They're also skeptical that enough attorneys can be recruited for public defense, especially in rural areas.

Jefferson says estimates suggest the state would need another 2000 defense attorneys to meet the proposed standards.

While an average of 1300 members are admitted to the bar in Washington each year, only about 10% of attorneys go into criminal practice.

That includes both defense and prosecution.

- It seems to be quite a stretch to suggest that the bodies are available or that the bodies are available where they would need to be if you were to impose this on a statewide basis.

- Brown warned that the new standards could strain the criminal justice system, delaying or derailing cases in ways that allow crimes to go unchecked.

The state Supreme Court holds the final authority to enact any changes to existing caseload standards.

In Olympia, Jaelynn Grisso, Cascade PBS.

- Thank you, Jaelynn.

The Washington court spokesperson says the Supreme Court hasn't set a deadline for its decision.

We'll continue to follow the story and let you know when the court's ruling comes down.

This time of year, health experts have advised to keep sickness at bay.

Emergency room visits spike 10 to 15%, and children are often among those injured.

Doctors warn to get your COVID-19 and flu vaccines before the holidays if you can.

Infections spike around this time.

I'm Paris Jackson.

Thank you for watching "The Newsfeed," your destination for nonprofit Northwest news.

Go to cascadepbs.org for more great local coverage.

(dramatic music)