Policy and Partnerships
Fighting for fairness and compassion
DPD's mission is not only to provide high-quality representation but to also challenge the practices and policies that keep DPD's clients entangled in a harsh and unfair system. DPD's goal is to work with partners to dismantle the systems that oppress our clients. Where traditional systems remain, DPD is partnering with the community, litigating, and drawing upon the expertise of its staff to make those systems less harmful and more restorative.
Read more about our policy work on our blog, For The Defense.
DPD in the news
City Attorney Davison asks court to let her deny "high utilizers" access to Community Court, PubliCola, April 27, 2022
Data suggests the Seattle city attorney disproportionately prosecutes Black, Indigenous, and poor people, Real Change, April 20, 2022
Seattle City Attorney's plan for repeat offenders is 'tired' and destabilizing, public defender says, Seattle Times, March 19, 2022
Seattle City Attorney has a new plan to arrest, intervene with 118 repeat offenders, KUOW, March 15, 2022
CID Community Watch not impressed by Mayor Harrell's hot-spot policing strategy in Little Saigon, The Stranger, Feb. 7, 2022
Opinion: HB 1747 offers a pathway to keeping families together, South Seattle Emerald, Jan. 31, 2022
Public defenders union joins jail guards' call to address COVID crisis, PubliCola, Jan. 17, 2022
Man jailed for 9 years sues King County, Redmond after acquittal in killing: 'I lost a lot.' Seattle Times, Jan. 4, 2022
1 in 100 kids lose legal ties to their parents by the time they turn 18. This new bill aims to help, PBS News Hour, Jan. 3, 2022
Appeals court rules state must pay when people with disabilities wait in jail for services, PubliCola, Dec. 30, 2021
The state is failing LGBTQIA+ children in foster care, commentary by Tara Urs, Seattle Times, Oct. 13, 2021
It's time to put an end to racially disparate police stops and searches, commentary by Angélica Cházaro and Anita Khandelwal, South Seattle Emerald, Sept. 6, 2021
Washington Supreme Court reinstates King County inquest system that expands inquiry into police-caused deaths, Seattle Times, July 15, 2021
WA lawmakers look to keep families together in foster care reform, Crosscut, April 9, 2021
Nearly 200 cops with credibility issues still working in Washington state, Crosscut, April 8, 2021
Is Washington state taking too many children from their parents? Movement seeks to overhaul foster care, Seattle Times, March 30, 2021
Satterberg's appeal to the Supreme Court harms youth, undermines science, and exacerbates racial injustice, commentary by Ben Danielson, Sean Goode, and Anita Khandelwal, South Seattle Emerald, Feb. 9, 2021
Seattle, King County bills would require legal advice for youth before questioning by police, Seattle Times, Aug. 17, 2020
King County inmates face even more time alone during COVID-19, Crosscut, July 24, 2020
Seattle City Council votes to repeal loitering laws, but groups say much more is needed, Seattle Times, June 23, 2020
Reform isn't enough; region's police need radical restructuring, Seattle Times, June 15, 2020
Your right to a jury trial is on hold. Here's how coronavirus is changing the system, Seattle Times, June 2, 2020
People arrested during protests remain jailed after threats close King County Superior Court, Seattle Times, June 1, 2020
For mentally ill defendants, coronavirus means few safe options, The Marshall Project, May 15, 2020
Steady arrests risk COVID-19 spread beyond jail walls, advocates say, Crosscut, April 27, 2020
Washington's foster care system indicts itself by placing kids in hotels, commentary by Tara Urs, Crosscut, Feb. 26, 2020
Increase jury pay to address racial bias in criminal justice system, commentary by Anita Khandelwal and Michele Storms, Seattle Times, Oct. 27, 2019
10 Critical Reforms Local Prosecutors Should Embrace, NW Lawyer, June 2019
Jailing runaways does not keep them safe, commentary by Anita Khandelwal, Seattle Times, March 17, 2019
Washington handles runaway foster kids with handcuffs, shackles and jail. Is there a better way?, Seattle Times, Feb. 17, 2019
Combat Seattle's street crime with treatment and housing, not jail, commentary by Anita Khandelwal, Seattle Times, Nov. 16, 2018
Annual reports
DPD's 2021 Annual Report
DPD's 2020 Annual Report
DPD's 2019 Annual Report
DPD's 2018 Annual Report
DPD's 2017 Annual Report
DPD's 2016 Annual Report
DPD's 2015 Annual Report
Statements, reports, and position papers
Economic duress legislation
DPD is working on draft legislation that would expand the duress defense in Seattle Municipal Court to include behavior that had to do with a person's effort to meet a basic need or behavior that occurred due to symptoms of a behavioral health disorder.
Statement about people denied right to appear before a judge because of an unspecified threat
DPD Director Anita Khandelwal issued a statement on June 1, 2020, about the King County Superior Court's decision to close all operations due to unspecified "civil disturbances," depriving people incarcerated prior to being charged in jail an extra day. She also expressed concerns about the King County Prosecutor's refusal to determine who could be released on their own recognizance. Read her complete statement.
Statement about strategies proposed by High-Barrier Individuals Working Group
DPD Director Anita Khandelwal issued a statement on Sept. 13, 2019, expressing concerns about the four pilot strategies released by the High-Barrier Individuals Working Group. The pilots largely fail to address what DPD knows our clients need -- long-term housing and community-based services -- as opposed to more involvement in the criminal legal system. Read her complete statement.
Study by UW on racial diversity of jury pools
The Under-Representation of Blacks in the King County Jury Pool, by Katherine Beckett, University of Washington, May 2016