(Portland, OR) -- Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt calls the lack of public defenders an urgent threat to public safety. Schmidt says this year 285 cases including misdemeanors and felonies have been dismissed by the courts due to the lack of defense counsel. Schmidt says each week he'll publish cases that are dismissed or set over as a result of the crisis. Schmidt is a member of a workgroup that's crafting legislation and the budgetary response that's needed to solve the problem.