Filed Date: April 3, 2017
Case Ongoing
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The ACLU of Washington State filed this class action lawsuit against the Office of Public Defense (OPD) for failing to provide adequate defense to juveniles in Grays Harbor County, violating their Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and Article I, §§ 3 and 22 of the Washington state Constitution. The suit was filed on April 3, 2017.
The complaint stated that children have the same right to due process as adults, and if anything, the right is more important for children because they cannot advocate for their own legal rights. The complaint alleges that children in Grays Harbor are being functionally denied counsel because attorneys are not present long enough to provide meaningful advocacy and adversarial testing. The complaint also alleged that the State is aware of the problem, and of several other constitutional violations, such as holding children on unchallenged bail amounts; giving children inadequate advice of rights, option, and consequences; and encouraging children to plead guilty without adequate consideration of legal defenses.
The proposed plaintiff class consisted of "all indigent persons who have or will have juvenile offender cases pending in pretrial status in Grays Harbor County Juvenile Court, and who have the constitutional right to appointment of counsel." The complaint estimated that approximately 20 cases are in pretrial status at any given time.
The complaint sought declaratory judgment stating that the current services children receive are constitutionally inadequate, and that the State is responsible for the constitutional deficiencies.
An earlier complaint was filed on March 23, 2017 by a taxpayer, demanding that the State Attorney general institute the proposed action. The Washington State Attorney General declined to institute the action on the grounds that it represented defendants. The current action was subsequently filed. Because of the conflict of interest with the Attorney General, an amended complaint, filed on May 12, 2017, requested that the court declare that the defendants possess the legal authority, as well as the "competence, expertise, and authority" to decide how to fix the constitutional inadequacies in the public defense system.
The case moved steadily toward trial throughout 2017 and 2018. A non-jury trial is scheduled for March 3, 2019. The case is still ongoing.
Summary Authors
Rachel Carpman (2/15/2019)
Allen v. Edwards, Louisiana state trial court (2017)
Lanese, Christopher (Washington)
Chiang, Emily (Washington)
Harrington, Mathew L. (Washington)
Schuster, Breanne (Washington)
Talner, Nancy Lynn (Washington)
Lanese, Christopher (Washington)
Last updated April 18, 2024, 4:04 p.m.
State / Territory: Washington
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: April 3, 2017
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
All indigent persons who have or will have juvenile offender cases pending in pretrial status in Grays Harbor County Juvenile Court, and who have the constitutional right to appointment of counsel.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Case Details
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Unknown
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Reproductive rights:
General:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Discrimination-basis: