Over 300 criminal defendants in the Portland, Oregon, area have had their charges dismissed because public defenders were unavailable to represent them.
This sends a message to crime victims in our community that justice is unavailable, and their harm will go unaddressed," Schmidt said, adding that criminals get the message that "there is no accountability while burning through scarce police and prosecutor resources."
Oregon does not directly hire public defenders, but contracts with firms and attorneys
***** Chotzen, the chief attorney in the misdemeanor unit of Metropolitan Public Defender, said no one wants the job.
The work is so hard, the work is underpaid, and there is so much stress and vicarious trauma
Even there, defending criminals apparently isn’t all that popular
And that means the criminal justice system is breaking down
For Schmidt, the “horrific” part of the crisis is where it leaves the victims of crime
“My attorneys are trying to explain this to a victim”
https://www.westernjournal.com/leftist-county-facing-staffing-shortages-hurts-now-hundreds-criminals-free/
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