126: From Portland to Klamath Falls, Public Defense in Oregon is on Life Support w/Lee Wachocki and Eve Costello

Last year, Hunter spoke with Oregon Public Defender Chris O'Connor to discuss the public defender crisis in Oregon, and today, Hunter once again returns to Oregon to see what has changed. Joining Hunter to discuss the issue is Eve Costello, a contract PD in Klamath Falls, and Lee Wachocki, a PD in Multnomah County. Each of these attorneys bring with them an insight into the many ways that Public Defense is failing in Oregon from the urban center of Portland to the rural areas of Klamath Falls. While there are no easy solutions to the issues, it may be time for the state to seriously consider moving to a structure that enables the defense bar to act in a unified manner.       Guests: Lee Wachocki, Public Defender, Multnomah County Eve Costello, Contract Public Defender, Klamath Falls     Resources: Multnomah County Public Defender https://mpdlaw.com/ Sixth Amendment Center Report https://sixthamendment.org/know-your-state/oregon/ Vice Investigative Reporting on Public Defender Crisis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ENDjlvgLs 'No sense of justice': Hundreds cycling through Oregon courts without public defenders http://%20https/www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/09/no-sense-of-justice-1300-criminal-cases-in-limbo-as-oregons-public-defender-shortage-mounts.html Firing of Stephen Singer https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2022/08/18/board-fires-head-of-oregons-public-defense-agency/ Oregon Public Defense Law Suit https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/16/lawsuit-oregon-failing-to-provide-attorneys-to-people-charged-with-crimes/ ABA Report on Oregon Public Defense https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2022/01/aba-sclaid-finds-lack-of-resources-in-its-study-of-oregon-s-publ/ Oregon public defender asks court to withdraw overworked attorneys, dismiss cases https://www.opb.org/article/2023/03/16/public-defense-oregon-attorneys-dismiss-cases/   Oregon's public defender crisis impacts Jackson County https://www.opb.org/article/2023/05/01/oregons-public-defender-crisis-impacts-jackson-county/  Attorney Shortage in Rural America https://www.nhbr.com/lack-of-rural-lawyers-leaves-much-of-america-without-support/     Contact Hunter Parnell: [email protected]  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN