For the first time, Washington’s Supreme Court is setting limits on the number of cases that public defenders can handle – an effort to improve the quality of legal representation for some of the 200,000 poor people prosecuted in the state every year, but one that could increase costs to local governments at a time of tight budgets. By a vote of 7-2, the justices said lawyers who represent indigent defendants generally should handle no more than 150 felony cases per year or 300 to 400 misdemeanor cases, and even fewer when the cases are complex. The caseload standards will take effect in September 2013 to avoid imminent hits to local budgets, Chief Justice Barbara Madsen said in announcing them Friday. (Read Full Article Here)