Feb. 18, 2026 | Abbi Duhart | News Editor
In a unanimous decision, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled Feb. 5 that Oregon residents who are charged with a crime and can’t get legal representation from the state in a timely manner must have their case dismissed until further notice.
More specifically, if the state has failed to provide a defendant with a defense attorney for 60 days regarding a misdemeanor case and 90 days regarding a felony case after their first court appearance, the case will be dismissed. Prosecutors would be allowed to bring forth the case again in the future as long as Oregon can provide a defense attorney.
While many are in favor of the ruling because defendants have a right to a fair case, others argue that those guilty of a crime could potentially be dismissed with no consequences.
The U.S. Constitution, as well as Oregon’s Constitution, states that those who are charged with a crime have a right to an attorney. Because Oregon has been struggling to meet this requirement, the ruling was put in place to take steps to adhere to this.
The ruling could end up forcing the dismissal of more than 1,400 criminal cases, with more than 900 of these being in Multnomah County.
During the 2025 legislative session, a $707 million budget was given to Oregon’s public defense system to help fix Oregon’s defense lawyer shortage, a 14.8% increase from the previous budget. With this, 180 positions were filled.
While Oregon has been making slow progress, with the number of unrepresented defendants decreasing, many still worry about the drawbacks that come with the ruling. John Wentworth, a district attorney of Clackamas County, said, “This Supreme Court’s decision means that criminal defendants, their victims and our communities will continue to lack justice as potentially thousands of cases will now be dismissed,” adding, “This is an immense waste of taxpayers’ money.”
While it’s still unclear if this decision made by the Supreme Court will help or hinder Oregon’s criminal justice system, many agree that something must be done to address the persistent issues.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
