Washington County remains one of four Oregon counties where criminal defendants still go without a public defender, even as the state cut its overall backlog by 66% in one year.

The Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) reported 1,104 unrepresented cases statewide as of Aug. 31, down from a peak of about 4,880 in March 2025. OPDC Director Ken Sanchagrin presented the figures to state lawmakers on Wednesday, Sept. 9, according to KGW.

Washington County, along with Multnomah, Jackson and Douglas counties, stays on the OPDC's "crisis county" list. Two other counties, Marion and Coos, were removed within the past year.

The statewide improvement stems from a seven-part reform plan Sanchagrin delivered in June 2025 at Gov. Tina Kotek's direction. The plan includes special dockets to resolve cases quickly through plea deals, strategic deployment of state-employed public defenders and allowing experienced defenders to carry higher caseloads.

Kotek personally removed the previous OPDC director in April 2025 and installed Sanchagrin. The state first began reducing the backlog at the end of that month.

"While Roberts unquestionably has had an impact on the reduction of unrepresented cases and individuals statewide, the majority of the decline can be attributed to non-Roberts factors," Sanchagrin told lawmakers.

He was referring to the Oregon Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in State v. Roberts, issued in February 2026. That decision requires dismissal of criminal charges if the state fails to appoint an attorney within 60 days for misdemeanors or 90 days for felonies after arraignment.

The ruling hit Washington County hard. When it took effect, 263 local cases faced immediate dismissal, according to a joint statement Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton and Multnomah County DA Nathan Vasquez issued in February 2026, as reported by KATU. The affected cases included drug trafficking, aggravated theft, firearms offenses, felony driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) and strangulation charges.

Statewide, 2,296 cases have been dismissed under the Roberts ruling as of Sept. 9. Of those, 529 have been refiled. Sanchagrin said Roberts dismissals account for 11% of the total cases removed from the unrepresented list over the past year.

During 11 of the past 12 months, more people left the unrepresented list than joined it, Sanchagrin said.

Still, advocates say the state needs to go further. Stacey Lowe, director of Public Defenders of Oregon (PDO), a coalition of 12 nonprofit public defense firms, cited the OPDC's 2024 six-year plan, which estimated Oregon needs 45% more public defense attorneys to fully address the shortage. PDO plans to ask the Oregon Legislature in 2027 to fully fund public defense services, projecting that more than 90,000 Oregonians will face criminal charges that year.

Oregon already spends more than $300 million per year on public defense, according to the February 2026 joint statement from Barton and Vasquez.

No Washington County-specific count of the current 1,104 unrepresented cases has been released. The next major action point is the 2027 legislative session, where the funding request will be considered. Residents can track OPDC updates and submit testimony through the Oregon Legislature's website.