Longtime Tri-Cities defense leader leaving. WA courts can’t handle what’s coming, he says

One of the more prominent critics of the Washington State Bar Association’s changes to public defense is leaving because he believes they’ve set the system on a path to financial disaster.

Larry Zeigler, 78, has headed the Franklin County Office of Public Defense since it was created eight years ago after splitting off from a joint office with Benton County.

The position has come with struggles, including a period last year when a shortage of defense attorneys for indigent suspects in both counties reached a critical point.

But the lack of understanding that led to a recent decision by state bar association leaders to change the public defense system has proven to be too much, says Zeigler.

He believes many of those policymakers who formed the standards for public defense attorneys are out of touch with the realities of county budgets and how counties are paying those attorneys.

His greatest frustration is with an upcoming change to caseload limits.

Zeigler and others contend the changes are not economically or physically feasible. Officials have said when fully implemented it could cost Franklin County alone up to $9 million, devastating its budget.

“It now appears that a distinct minority of the legal profession intends to muscle the traditionalists to the curb and supplant them with the legal stargazers and rhapsodists, who appear to have taken effective control of bench and bar,” Zeigler wrote in his resignation letter.

Zeigler, a former Richland police officer and longtime public defense attorney, expressed a growing frustration in how the state has dictated how the county public defense system must work.

“I sincerely wish that I could feel better about the situation I leave you in, but such is not the case,” Zeigler wrote. “While I can step away and perhaps insulate myself a bit more from that which you will all undergo as lawyers, judges and public defenders, it does not give me any satisfaction; for the real price will be paid by the state’s citizenry as taxpayers and victims.”

He is leaving Franklin County during a tumultuous time, when several high-profile employees have left, some claiming they were targeted or unfairly treated by some elected officials.

That includes Zeigler’s former public defense coordinator who quit last month after saying she was targeted by elected officials who are under criminal investigation by her husband, a sheriff’s investigator looking into misconduct allegations by three elected officials.

Zeigler however, said he is not leaving over a conflict with the county commissioners.

Bar association changes

Zeigler said his greatest concern is with a decision earlier this year by the Washington State Bar Association board of governors to change public defense attorney caseload limits.

Prior to the change, public defense attorneys were allowed to handle 150 felony cases or 400 misdemeanor cases in a year’s time.

The association now has put a three-year plan in place to cut that number by a third.

It also will add a system that factors in the seriousness of the crime.

The new rules also require public defense offices to hire social workers, investigators and legal staff to help the attorneys.

Bar association leaders said the changes are necessary to give suspects who can’t afford an attorney an equal level of defense.

Benton and Franklin county leaders have said the changes will be devastatingly expensive for counties that already are required to cover the majority of public defense costs.

The Washington State Supreme Court is currently taking public comments on the changes that they have yet to formally adopt. It’s not clear what changes they could make to the rules already adopted by the bar.

Zeigler helped lead a discussion of those changes at a June meeting that brought together state legislators, Benton and Franklin county officials and attorneys.

At the time, the discussion was overshadowed by a defense attorney shortage in Benton County that led to several cases being dismissed and some suspects being released from jail.

Earlier this week, a Kennewick rape suspect was rearrested after disappearing for two months after being released from jail because no lawyers were available to represent him.

While there was unanimous support that the new regulations would hurt the counties, there was little consensus at the time on how to move forward.

The Washington State Association of Counties expects to hold a meeting on the issues. But Zeigler said he believes it may be too late to head off a potential financial disaster.

For now, Josh Cuevas will take over running the department on an interim basis, according to a Franklin County Commission agenda. The job is expected to pay $138,000.

A young attorney, Cuevas joined the county’s office of public defense last summer after finishing an internship, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Stepping away

Zeigler has left his mark on the Tri-Cities.

He spent three years as a Marine with a tour in Vietnam, five years as a police officer with the University of Washington and city of Richland before becoming a lawyer in the 1980s.

He’s been public defense attorney for both counties over the years.

For now, he’s planning a short vacation and when he returns he’ll spend a lot of time reading and studying and may eventually teach some classes.

“I worked with good people,” he told the Tri-City Herald. “We had lots of problems, but we always seemed to come up with a solution.”

This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM.