A group of defendants in criminal cases Monday filed against the State of Oregon alleging that the state violated criminal defendants’ constitutional right to legal counsel and a speedy trial.

The lawsuit seeks to become a class action lawsuit. The complaint argues the state made a “clear violation of basic standards of justice” by depriving the plaintiffs of their rights that are under the US and Oregon constitutions. The lawsuit comes as a response to a statewide shortage of public defenders that left many defendants without legal representation.

In the 10-page complaint, plaintiffs assert that the court deemed each plaintiff unable to hire a private attorney and eligible for a court-appointed attorney. And yet, the state neither provided them with an attorney nor dismissed the charges against them. According to the complaint, approximately 500 people in Oregon were charged with crimes are awaiting a public defender. Another 33 defendants are in police custody. 

The lawsuit names the Office of Public Defense Services, an independent state agency responsible for ensuring criminal defendants have access to public defenders, Governor Kate Brown and the executive director of the state’s public defense agency, Stephen Singer. Plaintiffs ask for an injunction that would allow criminal defendants to be released if an attorney  is not provided within a reasonable period of time. 

Singer said Oregon’s public defense system is unable to meet constitutional requirements providing for representation for those entitled to it. The shortage of public defenders, according to Singer, means “that cases can’t move through the system, which means the courts, the district attorney’s office, victims, witnesses, and the community are not having their public safety needs addressed.”

Jason D. Williamson, who helped prepare the complaint, said: “Public defense is a crisis throughout the country…Oregon is among only a handful of states that is now entirely depriving people of their constitutional right to counsel on a daily basis, leaving countless indigent defendants without access to an attorney for months at a time.”