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#Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - WACDL

Longview's public defender costs continue to rise

Daily News Online: The increase is driven by a state Supreme Court decision on maximum public defender caseloads, and city leaders say there is little to do aside from meet the requirement.

History of Abuse Seen in Many Girls in Juvenile System

New York Times: As many as 80 percent of the girls in some states’ juvenile justice systems have a history of sexual or physical abuse, according to a report released Thursday.

Alternatives to reform prisons to reduce outsourcing and reoffending

Seattle Times: Keeping inmates close to families will keep our communities safer, and maintain the focus on corrections, not the warehousing of prisoners.

Yakima County wins program to cut jail costs

Yakima Herald: After more than two years of planning, Yakima County is now set to implement a pre-trial program that will allow suspects accused of low-level, non-violent crimes to be released from jail while awaiting trial.

Rehabilitating teens may mean sealing their juvenile record

Seattle Times: More than 100 years ago, Washington lawmakers created a separate juvenile-justice system because they recognized that society benefits when juvenile courts focus on both accountability and rehabilitation.

Skagit judge finds state in contempt for delays in treating mentally ill defendant

Skagit Valley Herald: A Skagit County judge has found Western State Hospital in contempt of court after delays in transporting a mentally ill defendant from jail to receive psychiatric treatment.

Court: First Amendment protects profanity against police

Seattle Times: A teenage boy convicted of obstruction after yelling and cursing at three Seattle police officers while they were investigating a disturbance at his house had a First Amendment right to behave the way he did.

The simple idea that could transform US criminal justice

The Guardian: Judge Victoria Pratt looks defendants in the eye, asks them to write essays about their goals, and applauds them for complying – and she is getting results.

Treating inmates’ ADHD could reduce recidivism

News Tribune Opinion: About 10 years ago, a grad student studied two large-city jails back East. That writer thought 75 percent of those incarcerated were adults with undiagnosed or untreated ADD and ADHD.