Mission

The mission of the Washington Defender Association is to promote, assist and encourage public defense systems which ensure that all accused persons in every court receive effective assistance of counsel.

Policies

To provide assistance to public defenders and public defender organizations through training, centralized resources and sharing of common problems in management and funding of public defender cases, public defender offices and public defender systems.

To promote, update, publicize and further the Standards for Public Defense Services as standards for the provision of services in public defense systems and to encourage their use and implementation by government and defender organizations.

To support and assist public defender organizations in individual cases, ethical dilemmas and public defense systems.

To seek to reform and improve public defense systems and the administration of justice and to stimulate efforts to remedy inadequacies or injustice in substantive or procedural law.

Goals

To support and encourage public defense attorneys to provide the highest quality representation.

To ensure that attorneys handling public defense matters have case loads which allow them to provide effective assistance of counsel to all clients.

To promote adequate compensation and resources for the defense of the indigent accused.

To promote confidence and respect for the defense function.

To promote the provision of representation that is effective and efficient and maintains the confidence of clients.