PORT ANGELES — Clallam County officials are reconsidering how they provide legal services to defendants who can’t afford an attorney.
The county’s three-year contract with Clallam Public Defender expires at the end of this month, and the future provision of indigent defense remains very much in question.
County commissioners this year issued a request for proposals from would-be public defenders and received two responses: one from Clallam Public Defender and one from former Prosecuting Attorney William Payne’s law firm, Payne Law P.S.
Clallam Public Defender, a nonprofit organization that has a long-standing relationship with the county, offered to provide public defense in superior and district courts at an annual rate of $1.19 million.
That would pay for 3.6 full-time attorneys in superior court, one attorney in juvenile court, 4.75 attorneys in the two district courts, support staff and overhead.
Payne proposed to represent clients for $418,000 in district court and appeals in superior court at no additional cost.
The district court-centric proposal would fund 4.75 attorneys, support staff and overhead.
$1.14 million budgeted
The county budgeted $1.14 million for indigent defense in 2016.
“Let’s give this a week,” Board Chairman Jim McEntire said in a Monday work session.
“This is our first touch on this, and so I think it bears a little bit of additional deliberation and consideration.”
McEntire stated that he and Payne are friends, and that he would disclose the relationship again if the board were to vote on a public defense contract before he leaves office at the end of this month.
McEntire added in a later interview that he had “no idea” that Payne was interested in bidding for indigent defense.
A third option for commissioners to consider is in-house public defense in which a county employed case manager would assign cases to a roster of local attorneys.
McEntire asked County Administrator Jim Jones to prepare a cost analysis of in-house public defense for next week’s work session.
‘Serious dispute’
In a Wednesday memo, Jones cited a “long-standing and very serious dispute” between Clallam Public Defender Director Harry Gasnick and Judge Rick Porter of Clallam County District Court No. 1 as a weakness in the firm’s proposal.
That dispute, Jones said, has “reached the point that the judge believes he must consider either barring anyone from this firm from representing clients in his courtroom, or recusing himself from presiding over any cases that are represented by the Clallam Public Defender firm.”
Gasnick, Porter and Payne attended the work session but did not address the board.
Gasnick declined to comment on the conflict after the meeting.
Jones in his memo recommended that commissioners select Payne’s proposal and rebid public defense for superior court, but only if commissioners could reach that agreement unanimously.
He concluded that “ethical optics” of McEntire’s relationship with Payne was a weakness in the proposal from Payne Law.
‘Apples to oranges’
Clallam Public Defender would not separate its bid for district court and superior court, resulting in an “apples to oranges” comparison, McEntire said.
“I favor the idea of bringing some fresh blood into the process,” Commissioner Bill Peach said in the work session.
“Regardless of how effective Harry has been, competition is good.”
Bringing public defense in-house for superior court would drive up the total cost to about $1.3 million, Commissioner Mike Chapman said.
“As the years have gone by, the public defender’s office has had a long-standing tradition of working with the county on our budget issues,” said Chapman, a fourth-term commissioner.
“I have no doubt that over the next month we’d be able to work with Harry to reach an agreement that would live within our budget.
“I think we’re kind of cutting off that process a little quick,” Chapman said.
Clallam Public Defender has provided a constitutional service to county citizens for more than 30 years, Chapman said.
The firm has kept the county out of litigation as laws have changed, he added.
“You open up a whole Pandora’s box by making a change,” Chapman said.
“Competition is good, except nonprofits are not in competition with for-profits” so it’s an unfair comparison.
All things being equal, Jones said he would have recommended the Clallam Public Defender bid had the proposals been the same.
McEntire agreed with the notion that competition for government services is paramount.
“Nobody ought to believe that they have a contractual relationship in perpetuity with government,” McEntire said.
“Every once in a while, there needs to be an opening for other attorneys, other law firms, what have you, to have an opportunity at least to come in and make an offer.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.