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News and position papers - Public Defense
Learn more about the Department of Public Defense's policies, partnerships, and outreach.
DPD's mission is not only to provide high-quality representation but to also challenge the practices and policies that keep DPD's clients entangled in a harsh and unfair system. DPD's goal is to work with partners to dismantle the systems that oppress our clients. Where traditional systems remain, DPD is partnering with the community, litigating, and drawing upon the expertise of its staff to make those systems less harmful and more restorative.
On this page, you can view news featuring DPD and DPD's position papers.
On this page, you can view news featuring DPD and DPD's position papers.
DPD in the news
- Prosecutors' actions contribute to people with mental illness languishing in jail, commentary by Anita Khandelwal, Seattle Times, March 2, 2023
- Activists call for Seattle jail's closure, citing Dow Constantine's 2020 pledge, Seattle Times, Feb. 27, 2023
- WA Supreme Court overturns Black man's rape conviction over bias in jury selection, Seattle Times, Oct. 10, 2022
- Seattle's 'high utilizer initiative' targets frequent offenders for prosecution. Could it be put to better use? PubliCola, Aug. 26, 2022
- The role WA courts play in mental health care when someone is in crisis, Seattle Times, Aug. 24, 2022
- Seattle city attorney making quicker filing decisions, prosecuting misdemeanors more often, report says, Seattle Times, Aug. 17, 2022
- Washington justices: Race a factor in analyzing police stops, Associated Press, June 16, 2022
- Two cops acted with reckless disregard for the truth, judge says, Axios, June 13, 2022
- How Seattle's crackdown on crime ensnared a homeless man and made his struggle with addiction worse, PubliCola, May 24, 2022
- Almost 5,000 felony cases await resolution in King County Superior Court, thanks to COVID, other factors, Seattle Times, May 20, 2022
- End harmful and ineffectual prosecutions in Seattle Municipal Court, commentary by Anita Khandelwal and Mark Stroh, May 17, 2022
- City Attorney Davison asks court to let her deny "high utilizers" access to Community Court, PubliCola, April 27, 2022
- Data suggests the Seattle city attorney disproportionately prosecutes Black, Indigenous, and poor people, Real Change, April 20, 2022
- County proposal would expand right to counsel before warrantless searches, PubliCola, March 25, 2022
- Seattle City Attorney's plan for repeat offenders is 'tired' and destabilizing, public defender says, Seattle Times, March 19, 2022
- Seattle City Attorney has a new plan to arrest, intervene with 118 repeat offenders, KUOW, March 15, 2022
- CID Community Watch not impressed by Mayor Harrell's hot-spot policing strategy in Little Saigon, The Stranger, Feb. 7, 2022
- Opinion: HB 1747 offers a pathway to keeping families together, South Seattle Emerald, Jan. 31, 2022
- Public defenders union joins jail guards' call to address COVID crisis, PubliCola, Jan. 17, 2022
- Man jailed for 9 years sues King County, Redmond after acquittal in killing: 'I lost a lot.' Seattle Times, Jan. 4, 2022
- 1 in 100 kids lose legal ties to their parents by the time they turn 18. This new bill aims to help, PBS News Hour, Jan. 3, 2022
News from previous years
- Appeals court rules state must pay when people with disabilities wait in jail for services, PubliCola, Dec. 30, 2021
- The state is failing LGBTQIA+ children in foster care, commentary by Tara Urs, Seattle Times, Oct. 13, 2021
- It's time to put an end to racially disparate police stops and searches, commentary by Angélica Cházaroand Anita Khandelwal, South Seattle Emerald, Sept. 6, 2021
- Washington Supreme Court reinstates King County inquest system that expands inquiry into police-caused deaths, Seattle Times, July 15, 2021
- WA lawmakers look to keep families together in foster care reform, Crosscut, April 9, 2021
- Nearly 200 cops with credibility issues still working in Washington state, Crosscut, April 8, 2021
- Is Washington state taking too many children from their parents? Movement seeks to overhaul foster care, Seattle Times, March 30, 2021
- Satterberg's appeal to the Supreme Court harms youth, undermines science, and exacerbates racial injustice, commentary by Ben Danielson, Sean Goode, and Anita Khandelwal, South Seattle Emerald, Feb. 9, 2021
- Seattle, King County bills would require legal advice for youth before questioning by police, Seattle Times, Aug. 17, 2020
- King County inmates face even more time alone during COVID-19, Crosscut, July 24, 2020
- Seattle City Council votes to repeal loitering laws, but groups say much more is needed, Seattle Times, June 23, 2020
- Reform isn't enough; region's police need radical restructuring, Seattle Times, June 15, 2020
- Your right to a jury trial is on hold. Here's how coronavirus is changing the system, Seattle Times, June 2, 2020
- People arrested during protests remain jailed after threats close King County Superior Court, Seattle Times, June 1, 2020
- For mentally ill defendants, coronavirus means few safe options, The Marshall Project, May 15, 2020
- Steady arrests risk COVID-19 spread beyond jail walls, advocates say, Crosscut, April 27, 2020
- Washington's foster care system indicts itself by placing kids in hotels, commentary by Tara Urs, Crosscut, Feb. 26, 2020
- Increase jury pay to address racial bias in criminal justice system, commentary by Anita Khandelwal and Michele Storms, Seattle Times, Oct. 27, 2019
- 10 Critical Reforms Local Prosecutors Should Embrace, NW Lawyer, June 2019
- Jailing runaways does not keep them safe, commentary by Anita Khandelwal, Seattle Times, March 17, 2019
- Washington handles runaway foster kids with handcuffs, shackles and jail. Is there a better way?, Seattle Times, Feb. 17, 2019
- Combat Seattle's street crime with treatment and housing, not jail, commentary by Anita Khandelwal, Seattle Times, Nov. 16, 2018
Statements, reports, and position papers
Proposed ordinance to create meaningful consent when police request to search an individual
Read our one-pager about proposed legislation (160KB) that would ensure individuals understand their rights before consenting to a search by requiring law enforcement to connect them to a lawyer.
Thanks to Blake decision, public defenders are helping hundreds get relief from probation
Public defenders are helping hundreds of people sentenced to community custody due to a previous drug conviction in King County get relief from the onerous oversight of court-ordered community custody obligations. The department is submitting motions to have community custody -- also called probation -- vacated. Many individuals under such obligations have active warrants issued by the state Department of Corrections, warrants that are quashed when the court orders are approved. Contact us if you are on community custody for a drug-related conviction in King County. Email us at DPDBlakeRequest@kingcounty.gov or call 206-296-7662.
Our Nov. 21, 2021 news release about DPD's work vacating community custody requirements (143KB)
Study by UW on racial diversity of jury pools
The Under-Representation of Blacks in the King County Jury Pool (180KB), by Katherine Beckett, University of Washington, May 2016