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Oct. 15 on The Story: Over the last few years, the state of Oregon has struggled with a mounting number of criminal defendants going without public defenders — currently upwards of 3,000 cases. Most of them are released from custody as their cases languish. At the same time, public defenders say that high caseloads, low pay and an increasingly complex legal landscape have contributed to attorney burnout and turnover. Now the state agency in charge of turning the crisis around, the Oregon Public Defense Commission, faces a lawsuit from a Marion County public defense firm over the caseload "quota system" included in the agency's latest contract.
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