Case: Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon

2:11-cv-01100 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

Filed Date: June 10, 2011

Closed Date: Jan. 30, 2018

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Case Summary

On June 10, 2011, three indigent persons charged with crimes filed this class action, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law, in Skagit County Superior Court, against the City of Mount Vernon and the City of Burlington. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel and the ACLU, asked the court to enjoin the cities from violating the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, claiming that the cities failed to provide adequate assistance of counsel. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the cities had failed to impose reasonable caseload limits on public defenders, failed to monitor and oversee the public defense system, failed to provide adequate funds for public defense, and failed to provide representation at all critical stages of prosecution.

The Cities had jointly contracted with two attorneys to handle all public defense assistance cases, and each attorney handled over 1,000 cases per year even though such a caseload was three times the maximum allowable amount for a full-time public defender pursuant to standards established by the Washington State Bar Association. The cities had not established any system for ensuring that the attorneys investigate cases, prepare for trial, or communicate timely and adequately with clients.

On July 5, 2011, the defendant municipalities removed the case to federal court, where it was assigned to Judge Robert S. Lasnik of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In response to motions from both the plaintiff and the defendants, on February 23, 2012, Judge Lasnik denied the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction because the balance of hardships did not tip in their favor, and the defendant's motion for summary judgment because the plaintiffs provided evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that the defendants knew indigent criminal defendants were not receiving adequate representation and were indifferent to this inadequacy.

The same day, Judge Lasnik granted the plaintiff's motion for class certification. The class certified was "all indigent persons who have been or will be charged with one or more crimes in the municipal courts of either Mount Vernon or Burlington, who have been or will be appointed a public defender, and who continue to have or will have a public defender appearing in their cases."

Between June 3 and June 18, 2012, the parties went to a bench trial. However, on June 28 the judge issued an order for further briefing. Specifically, Judge Lasnik sought information on the following questions

Have any federal courts taken over supervision of a public defense agency, either directly or through appointment of a supervisor/monitor, anywhere in the United States?
Have any state or federal courts held a municipality liable under Monell for constitutional defects in its public defense system?
Has any state or municipality adopted “hard” caseload standards like those that Washington is contemplating?
Is the issue of the constitutionality of the representation afforded by Messrs. Sybrandy and Witt moot? If so, what impact does that have on the available remedy, including an award of attorney fees? The responses were due for August 14th and submitted that day.

On December 4, 2013, Judge Lasnik found that the plaintiffs established a systematic deprivation of their right to counsel and the Cities' responsibility for the deprivation. The Court granted injunctive relief (1) requiring that the cities re-evaluate their contract for the provision of public defense services to insure that indigent criminal defendants were provided the actual assistance of counsel; and (2) requiring the cities to hire one part-time public defense supervisor to supervise and evaluate the provision of legal services. The Court also granted attorney's fees. 989 F.Supp.2d 1122 (2013).

On April 15, 2014, the Court issued an order awarding attorneys' fees and costs. 2014 WL 11961980. Shortly after, on April 22, 2014, the Court issued an order appointing Eileen Farley as a public defense supervisor. The agreement was to last until March 30th, 2017. During that time she sent several reports detailing the improvements the defendants had made to their public defense system.

In March 2017, the public defense supervisor proposed that the court extend her term and transition to a public defense auditor during the year. The Cities of Mount Vernon and Burlington responded in agreement, stating they had made the public defense supervisor's suggestions permanent and no longer needed to be supervised. In April, the court granted this extension in of supervision until July 2017, when the auditor took her place.

	Document
2:11-cv-01100	Docket [PACER]	Sept. 7, 2017	Sept. 7, 2017 Docket
1-1 2:11-cv-01100	Complaint [PACER]	June 10, 2011	June 10, 2011 Complaint
80 2:11-cv-01100	Amended Complaint	Nov. 10, 2011	Nov. 10, 2011 Complaint
143 2:11-cv-01100	Order Certifying Class	Feb. 23, 2012	Feb. 23, 2012 Order/Opinion 298 F.R.D. 665
142 2:11-cv-01100	Order Denying Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction	Feb. 23, 2012	Feb. 23, 2012 Order/Opinion 2012 WL 600727
271 2:11-cv-01100	Order Denying Motions for Summary Judgment	April 25, 2013	April 25, 2013 Order/Opinion 2013 WL 1774624
322 2:11-cv-01100	Statement of Interest of the United States	Aug. 14, 2013	Aug. 14, 2013 Statement of Interest (DOJ)
325 2:11-cv-01100	Memorandum of Decision	Dec. 4, 2013	Dec. 4, 2013 Order/Opinion 989 F.Supp.2d 1122
354 2:11-cv-01100	Order Awarding Fees and Costs	April 15, 2014	April 15, 2014 Order/Opinion 2014 WL 11961980
354 2:11-cv-01100	Order Awarding Fees and Costs	April 15, 2014	April 15, 2014 Order/Opinion 2014 WL 11961980

Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Securing Reasonable Caseloads: Ethics and Law in Public Defense Norman Lefstein	Chapter 1: The Failure to Implement the Right to Counsel Due to Excessive Caseloads A. The Constitutional Right to Counsel: Brief Overview B. Excessive Workloads: A Pervasive National P…	2011	Jan. 1, 2011 http://www.americanbar.org/...
Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel. National Right to Counsel Committee	[Edited, from the website:] [Notwithstanding the nominal right of indigent defendants to publicly provided counsel,] Today, in criminal and juvenile proceedings in state courts, somet…	April 14, 2009	April 14, 2009 http://www.constitutionproject.org/...

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	NOTICE OF REMOVAL from Skagit County Superior Court, case number 11-2-01156-1; (Receipt # 0981-2482369), filed by City of Mount Vernon, City of Burlington. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Skagit County Superior Court Complaint, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 07/05/2011) 1 Exhibit Skagit County Superior Court Complaint View on PACER 2 Civil Cover Sheet View on PACER	July 5, 2011	July 5, 2011
2	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 1 Notice of Removal,. (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 07/05/2011)	July 5, 2011	July 5, 2011
3	LETTER from Clerk to counsel re receipt of case from Skagit County Superior Court and advising of WAWD case number and judge assignment. (PM) (Entered: 07/06/2011)	July 6, 2011	July 6, 2011
4	VERIFICATION OF STATE COURT RECORDS re 1 Notice of Removal, by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon. (Rosenberg, Adam) (Entered: 07/06/2011)	July 6, 2011	July 6, 2011
	Judge Robert S. Lasnik added. (PM)	July 6, 2011	July 6, 2011
5	NOTICE of Unavailability of counsel Andrew G Cooley for Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 07/13/2011)	July 13, 2011	July 13, 2011
6	ORDER REGARDING INITIAL DISCLOSURES, JOINT STATUS REPORT AND EARLY SETTLEMENT - CLASS ACTION Joint Status Report due by 8/25/2011, by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (KERR) (Entered: 07/14/2011)	July 14, 2011	July 14, 2011 RECAP
7	ANSWER to Complaint with JURY DEMAND by City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon.(Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 07/20/2011)	July 20, 2011	July 20, 2011
8	NOTICE of Unavailability of counsel Scott Glen Thomas for Defendant City of Burlington from 8/12/2011 to 8/22/2011 and from 12/26/2011 to 01/032012. (Thomas, Scott) (Entered: 07/28/2011)	July 28, 2011	July 28, 2011
9	NOTICE of Appearance by attorney J. Camille Fisher on behalf of Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur. (Fisher, J.) (Entered: 08/10/2011)	Aug. 10, 2011	Aug. 10, 2011
10	JOINT STATUS REPORT signed by all parties estimated Trial Days: 10-15.. (Marshall, Toby) (Entered: 08/25/2011)	Aug. 25, 2011	Aug. 25, 2011
11	RESPONSE by Interested Party Morgan M. Witt Morgan M. Witt's Objections to Suboena Duces tecum. (Murphy, John) (Entered: 08/25/2011)	Aug. 25, 2011	Aug. 25, 2011
12	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Interested Party Morgan M. Witt Certificate of Service of Morgan M. Witt's Ojbections to Subpoena Duces Tecum. (Murphy, John) (Entered: 08/25/2011)	Aug. 25, 2011	Aug. 25, 2011
13	MINUTE ORDER SETTING TRIAL DATE AND RELATED DATES; Length of Trial: 8-15 days. Bench Trial is set for 10/1/2012 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 15106 before Judge Robert S. Lasnik. Joinder of Parties due by 9/23/2011, Motion for Class Certification due by 12/16/2011, Amended Pleadings due by 4/4/2012, Expert Witness Disclosure/Reports under FRCP 26(a)(2) due by 4/4/2012, Discovery completed by 6/3/2012, Dispositive motions due by 7/3/2012, Settlement conference to be held by 8/22/2012, 39.1 mediation to be completed by 9/1/2012, Motions in Limine due by 9/3/2012, Pretrial Order due by 9/19/2012, Trial briefs to be submitted by 9/26/2012 (KERR) (Entered: 08/26/2011)	Aug. 26, 2011	Aug. 26, 2011
14	MOTION for Leave to Amend Complaint by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 9/30/2011, (Marshall, Toby) (Entered: 09/15/2011) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER	Sept. 15, 2011	Sept. 15, 2011
15	DECLARATION of Toby J. Marshall filed by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur re 14 MOTION for Leave to Amend Complaint (Marshall, Toby) (Entered: 09/15/2011)	Sept. 15, 2011	Sept. 15, 2011
16	MOTION for Leave to File Overlength Summary Judgment Briefs by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 9/20/2011, (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/20/2011) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER	Sept. 20, 2011	Sept. 20, 2011
17	ORDER regarding dfts' 16 Motion for overlength summary judgment briefs by Judge Robert S. Lasnik.(RS) (Entered: 09/22/2011)	Sept. 21, 2011	Sept. 21, 2011
18	ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE directing pltfs to show cause within 5 days by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (RS) (Entered: 09/22/2011)	Sept. 21, 2011	Sept. 21, 2011
19	RESPONSE by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur re 18 Order to Show Cause. (Marshall, Toby) (Entered: 09/23/2011)	Sept. 23, 2011	Sept. 23, 2011
20	ORDER vacating order to show cause by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (RS) (Entered: 09/23/2011)	Sept. 23, 2011	Sept. 23, 2011
21	RESPONSE, by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon, to 14 MOTION for Leave to Amend Complaint. (Rosenberg, Adam) (Entered: 09/26/2011)	Sept. 26, 2011	Sept. 26, 2011
22	DECLARATION of Adam L. Rosenberg filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 14 MOTION for Leave to Amend Complaint (Rosenberg, Adam) (Entered: 09/26/2011)	Sept. 26, 2011	Sept. 26, 2011
23	MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur. Noting Date 9/26/2011, (Terrell, Beth) (Entered: 09/26/2011)	Sept. 26, 2011	Sept. 26, 2011
24	ORDER granting pltfs' 23 Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages by Judge Robert S. Lasnik.(RS) (Entered: 09/27/2011)	Sept. 27, 2011	Sept. 27, 2011
25	MOTION for Summary Judgment by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Granting Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment re Joseph Wilbur) Noting Date 10/21/2011, (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011) 1 Proposed Order Granting Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment re Joseph Wilbur View on PACER	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
26	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Joseph Wilbur filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 25 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
27	MOTION for Summary Judgment by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Granting Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Jeremiah Ray Moon) Noting Date 10/21/2011, (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011) 1 Proposed Order Granting Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Jeremiah View on PACER	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
28	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Moon, Part 1 of 4 filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 27 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
29	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Moon, Part 2 of 4 filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 27 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
30	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment re Moon, Part 3 of 4 filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 27 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
31	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment re Moon, Part 4 of 4 filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 27 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
32	MOTION for Summary Judgment by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Granting Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Montague) Noting Date 10/21/2011, (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011) 1 Proposed Order Granting Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Montague View on PACER	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
33	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Montague, Part 1 of 2 filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 32 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
34	DECLARATION of Andrew G. Cooley in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment re Montague, Part 2 of 2 filed by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon re 32 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Cooley, Andrew) (Entered: 09/29/2011)	Sept. 29, 2011	Sept. 29, 2011
35	REPLY, filed by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur, TO RESPONSE to 14 MOTION for Leave to Amend Complaint (Marshall, Toby) (Entered: 09/30/2011)	Sept. 30, 2011	Sept. 30, 2011
36	MOTION for Protective Order on Unilateral Noting of the Depositions of Joseph Wilbur, Jeremiah Moon, and Angela Montague by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 10/21/2011, (Fisher, J.) (Entered: 10/06/2011) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER	Oct. 6, 2011	Oct. 6, 2011
37	DECLARATION of J. Camille Fisher filed by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur re 36 MOTION for Protective Order on Unilateral Noting of the Depositions of Joseph Wilbur, Jeremiah Moon, and Angela Montague (Fisher, J.) (Entered: 10/06/2011)	Oct. 6, 2011	Oct. 6, 2011
38	DECLARATION of Jennifer Boschen filed by Plaintiffs Angela Marie Montegue, Jeremiah Ray Moon, Joseph Jerome Wilbur re 36 MOTION for Protective Order on Unilateral Noting of the Depositions of Joseph Wilbur, Jeremiah Moon, and Angela Montague (Fisher, J.) (Entered: 10/06/2011)	Oct. 6, 2011	Oct. 6, 2011
39	MOTION to Stay Preliminary Injunction Hearing by Defendants City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Staying Hearing on Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction) Noting Date 10/14/2011, (Rosenberg, Adam) (Entered: 10/06/2011) 1 Proposed Order Staying Hearing on Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Inju View on PACER	Oct. 6, 2011	Oct. 6, 2011

Case: Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon

2:11-cv-01100 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

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