BENTON COUNTY, Wash. – According to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, multiple inmates in the Benton County Jail were released due to a lack of defense counsel.
Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger says five inmates were released in Benton County with charges including domestic violence, rape and communicating with a minor.
The release of the inmates is based on a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on in-custody defendants without assignment of defense counsel.
The ruling, filed on May 31 in the case of Betschart v. State of Oregon, states that counsel must be provided within seven days of a defendant’s initial appearance. If the state does not provide counsel, as required by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the defendant must be released from custody.
The released inmates do not have any direct impact on BCSO’s cases, however the sheriff’s office says it directly impacts public safety. BCSO is working with the Board of County Commissioners and the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office to address concerns.
BCSO notes that the public defender shortage is not just affecting Benton County and is affecting all 39 counties in Washington.
The Office of Public Defense and County Administration issued the following statement on the release:
“The Benton County Office of Public Defense makes every effort to appoint counsel to every defendant that qualifies as quickly as possible. Our County, like many others, has been experiencing a shortage of public defense attorneys, which is a crisis that is occurring not just in our state but nationwide. The Washington State Bar Association proposed rule changes intended to improve this situation but continue to present difficulties to ours and many public defense offices statewide. We want the people of Benton County to understand that we are doing everything we can, within the constraints we have, to ensure defense attorneys are being provided to defendants appropriately. Despite these significant challenges, the Benton County Office of Public Defense continues to work diligently to ensure Benton County’s commitment to the United States Constitution and the Washington State Constitution.”
Eisinger also released a memorandum opposing the release:
