Oregon public defender shortage: nearly 300 cases dismissed


              FILE - Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt speaks with media, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, at City Hall in Portland, Ore. Courts in Oregon have dismissed nearly 300 cases this year, including felonies, due to a shortage of public defenders for low-income defendants who can't afford an attorney. Schmidt, the top prosecutor in Portland's Multnomah County, called the shortage "an urgent threat to public safety" in releasing the tally. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP,File)
            
              FILE - Carl Macpherson, executive director at Metropolitan Public Defender, examines the file in a double murder case that was recently pushed back for trial in his office in Portland, Ore., on May 5, 2022. Courts in Oregon have dismissed nearly 300 cases this year, including felonies, due to a shortage of public defenders for low-income defendants who can't afford an attorney. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)
            
              FILE - Public defender Drew Flood with the nonprofit law firm Metropolitan Public Defender looks over his files for a criminal cases he is currently working on in Portland, Ore., on May 5, 2022. Courts in Oregon have dismissed nearly 300 cases this year, including felonies, due to a shortage of public defenders for low-income defendants who can't afford an attorney. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)
Oregon public defender shortage: nearly 300 cases dismissed