BEND, OR — Oregon’s public defender crisis now stretches into Bend. “What’s happening now is really a failure of government to perform one of its essential Constitutional duties,” says Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels, “Which is to appoint attorneys for people who are charged with crimes, who can’t afford to hire an attorney.” Multnomah County’s D.has said for several years he’s forced to release Portland-area inmates every month, due to a lack of available representation.
