Deborah functioned as a supreme-court type judge handling hard cases — this is public, magisterial authority, not private counseling.

Deborah handled hard cases that local community leaders could not decide — like a supreme court. The judge was surrounded by priests who could explain the law (clean/unclean, how it was written). When elders of a town say 'this case is too hard, go see Deborah,' and her decision is binding — that's not private counseling. It's public magisterial authority.