Governor Kotek Appoints Oregon Public Defense Commission Executive Director

Salem, OR - Today, Governor Tina Kotek announced that she has appointed Ken Sanchagrin to direct the Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC), pending Senate confirmation. The Governor selected Sanchagrin to be the interim executive director in April 2025 with the expectation that he would urgently address the unrepresented crisis in Oregon.

"Ken stepped in last April at my request, and he is delivering on the expectations I set forth to address the unrepresented crisis and end the needless delay of justice for defendants and crime victims," Governor Kotek said. "The Oregon Public Defense Commission has a duty to provide attorneys to defendants who cannot afford them, and under Ken's direction, there is a stronger coordinated effort among all branches of government to resolve this crisis with urgency and transparency. The numbers show he's making progress. Let's keep going."

During Sanchagrin's tenure, the number of defendants without an attorney has dropped significantly. At the end of December 2025, unrepresented defendants had decreased 32%, to 2,559 compared with 3,778 a year earlier. Additionally, Coos County is no longer on the list of "crisis" counties after three months of having few to zero people without counsel as of the end of 2025, down from more than 100 a year earlier.

Under Sanchagrin's leadership, the OPDC has:

• Implemented a seven-part plan to reduce the number of unrepresented defendants.
• Partnered with district attorneys in Coos, Jackson, Marion and Multnomah counties to pilot or create special dockets that aim to resolve cases quickly for defendants with low-level charges, particularly property offenses.
• Enacted a program that compensates experienced attorneys for voluntarily taking cases beyond their contractual caseload - up to 15% over the limit - if they have the capacity.
• Adopted policies that are expected to increase the public defense system's capacity to take cases.
• Established enforcement mechanisms to ensure that attorneys comply with caseload and performance expectations.
• Developed performance standards for attorneys to ensure that defendants receive a quality defense.
• Created online, public dashboards that make data easily accessible to inform budget decisions, assist with the development of policies, and increase transparency.
• Signed more than 400 contracts with public defense providers, including hourly attorneys, for 2025-27.
• Continued to log important successes in the state's Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court, safeguarding constitutional and statutory protections.

The legislature is considering in the upcoming session expanding the Oregon Trial Division capacity in a revenue-neutral way due to Sanchagrin's service delivery cost comparison.

"I am humbled by and appreciate the Governor's confidence in me," Sanchagrin said. "But this is a collaborative effort, and I want to thank our hardworking staff, our dedicated community of public defense providers, and our partners in the courts and district attorneys' offices. Together, we are working diligently to find and implement solutions that will reduce the number of unrepresented defendants. We have made important progress, but more work remains. I look forward to building on these efforts to address Oregon's constitutional obligations while creating a more sustainable, accountable and data-driven public defense system."

Prior to becoming interim director at OPDC, Sanchagrin served as the executive director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), and before that, as CJC's director of research. He earned doctoral and master's degrees in sociology from the University of Iowa, a law degree from Michigan State University, and a bachelor's in history from the College of Charleston.

Following the passage of Senate Bill 337 (2023), the OPDC moved from the judicial branch to the executive branch on January 1, 2025. The legislature determines the budget for the agency.

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