PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners renewed its public defender contract with Jefferson Associated Counsel on Monday, allocating $1.5 million for the service over the next three years.
The contract was unanimously approved by a quorum consisting of commissioners David Sullivan and Kathleen Kler. Commissioner Phil Johnson was not present.
The Port Townsend law firm has served as an exclusive provider of public defense services since 2005.
Function changed
After the meeting, Richard Davies, the firm’s director, said the office’s function has changed since it was awarded the first contract.
“Today there is a more collaborative nature of justice and a social service aspect to what we do,” Davies said.
“We are dealing with drug, alcohol and mental health issues among our clients, with an attempt to stop the cycle of recidivism.”
Davies, 53, has worked as a Jefferson County public defender since 1994.
He favors that aspect of law because his goal was to work in criminal public defense and providing civil legal services.
“This job allows me to do both of those things,” he said. “I like helping people.”
The firm employs five lawyers, three of whom work exclusively as public defenders while the other two, Davies included, spend a portion of their time on civil cases.
During his public defense tenure, Davies has defended several high-visibility clients, most notably Michael Pierce, who was convicted of double murder in November 2014 in his fourth trial.
The accompanying publicity in a case does not affect Davies’ strategy, he said.
“I just do the job as best I can,” he said. “As for Pierce, I was impressed by this little county’s ability to allow him a full and fair trial, although it took a number of times.”
While five firms bid to provide public defense services in 2011 when the last contract was renewed, Jefferson Associated Counsel was this year’s sole bidder according to County Administrator Philip Morley.
At the meeting, Sullivan attributed the lack of competition to the firm’s quality of work and that they are well established.
Four venues
The firm is responsible for representing indigent clients in four venues: adult Superior Court (felony), adult District Court (misdemeanor), Juvenile Court and Mental Health Court.
If the firm has a conflict, the county has allocated local firms to fill in.
The total contract allocates $295,782 for the remainder of 2016, $623,416 in 2017 and $647,437 in 2018.
The commissioners have the option of extending the contract to 2021 without calling for another bid, the contract states.
The contract can be terminated with a 30-day written notice by either party should the other violate its terms.
If the contract expires prior to a new agreement, the firm will receive monthly payments equivalent to 1/12 of the previous yearly contract.
The contract is based on a point system that assigns a value to each case, with one point representing a misdemeanor case and an annual allocation of 1,125 points for the firm and 300 points per attorney.
The contract has provisions for adjustment if the case loads fall below 90 percent or above 103 percent of the projected yearly total.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
