The Senate unanimously passed SB 5780, expanding training opportunities for public defenders and prosecutors in rural and underserved areas of the state. The bill has been referred to the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee for consideration and is scheduled to be voted out of committee prior to the next cutoff.

AWC will be monitoring the proposed budgets closely to ensure that, if the bill moves forward, there is adequate funding to make these programs have meaningful impact.

Dates to remember

SB 5780 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee on February 20 at 10:30 am, and is scheduled for a vote in that committee on February 21 at 8 am.

Senate considers expanding training opportunities for public defenders and prosecutors

February 9, 2024

SB 5780, sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres (R–Pasco), attempts to address the shortage of public defenders and prosecutors in rural and underserved areas of the state.

The bill would require the Office of Public Defense (OPD) and the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) in partnership with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (WAPA) to each administer training programs focused on both current law students and current practitioners.

Interns from the programs would serve in underserved and rural areas of the state and could be placed in government, nonprofit, or private firms that contract to provide public defense or prosecution services. AWC is supporting the bill as well as the accompanying budget proviso to provide funding for the interns and for the entities employing the interns.