County a step closer to a public defenders office

CELINA - Mercer County officials are preparing to take the first step toward establishing a county public defenders office.

Moving from the county's decades-old assigned counsel system to a county-run public defender office that would operate much like the prosecutor's office is a matter of necessity, some judges and attorneys say.

This is due to a felony caseload that has ballooned over the last decade and fewer local attorneys available to represent defendants who can't afford legal counsel.

"We see the need for this to be developed and grown," county commissioner Rick Muhlenkamp, speaking on behalf of the commissioners, said this week in support of a county public defenders office.

Before a public defender system can get off the ground, commissioners must first vote to create the commission made up of five members. That vote could come yet this month, Muhlenkamp said.

Three of the members would be appointed by county commissioners and two by county common pleas court judge Jeffrey Ingraham.

The board of commissioners and Ingraham must each appoint at least one attorney to the commission, according to Ingraham.

Commissioners this week met with Ingraham, local attorneys, county common pleas probate/juvenile court judge Matt Gilmore, county juvenile court magistrate Richard Delzeith and county prosecutor Amy Ikerd to consider potential commission appointees who would serve four year terms.

Starting from scratch

The task of establishing a public defenders office is not to be taken lightly and demands a sizable commitment of time from its organized, Celina-based attorney Louis Schiavone stressed.

Schiavone said he would help facilitate the process but cannot commit himself to the commission as his law office is undergoing a transition.

Auglaize County has had a public defenders office for quite some time, Schiavone said. It has a commission that serves in an advisory role, meeting quarterly, he said.

However, Schiavone noted it is well established.

"This entity (in Mercer County) will be starting an office from scratch and it's not going to be 'We meet once a quarter for an hour to shuffle some paperwork that has been presented to us with a turnkey operation that's working well,'" he emphasized.

Once the commission slots are filled, appointees must cast their nets far and wide for a qualified public defender who is ready to take the challenge of setting up and running a new government office.

"The key, I think, of these five people is to hire the public defender who is capable of coming in here and starting an office from scratch," he reiterated. "You're probably talking perhaps a statewide search to bring somebody in that can build an office and knows about financing and personnel and is a litigator in addition to that. Those are several skillsets that you're asking someone to do."

Non-attorney appointees

Officials this week floated numerous potential candidates who are not attorneys to serve on the commission. Having someone with great organizational abilities is paramount, Ingraham said.

"Since we're all working together on this, we've got to come up with five people that would be appropriate," Ingraham said.

Ingraham pointed to county treasurer David Wolters as a possible good fit for the commission.

"Treasurer Wolters who has always appeared to be, in my dealings with him, very organized, financially sound and conservative and would be of assistance to organizing a commission of five people that could efficiently and effectively establish the office and hire a public defender," Ingraham said.

Another potential candidate is Dani Duncan, the local drug court coordinator who possesses organizational skills and is sensitive to how the justice system works, Ingraham said. He also recommended Mike Huber, the county chief probation officer and bailiff who basically operates the court logistically during criminal proceedings, he said.

Attorney appointees

Finding two attorneys to serve on the commission is more difficult than some may think, said Celina-based attorney Jim Tesno.

Tesno said it is his understanding that attorneys appointed to the commission may not participate in the public defender's or prosecutor's office. With his retirement nearing, though, Tesno would be eligible to serve on the commission.

"I'm getting ready to retire which means I'm going to no longer participate in the public defender's office, but the great majority of attorneys in Mercer County I'm sure who would jump on (this) … may not be qualified legally to do it," he said.

"There's very few attorneys right now in Mercer County," Ikerd agreed.

With Tesno a likely candidate for one of the two attorney spots, Ingraham indicated he would put the word out about the need for another attorney to join the commission.

"As long as we get this established to start the year I think that will give us a year to actually get everything set up to open the office," he said. "Because over that period of time we're going to have to find space for this, even if it's on a short-term basis for the first couple years."

Member compensation

Ikerd informed parties that Ohio Revised Code allows for compensation of commission members.

County commissioner Greg Homan asked if compensation would be necessary, pointing out numerous people serve on county government boards and commissions, many in very demanding capacities, without payment. Offering compensation for the new commission would set a precedent, he said.

This commission is somewhat different, though, Gilmore and Ikerd said.

"This is starting something from scratch as opposed to asking somebody to sit on the MRDD board, which is an established organization," Gilmore said. "This will be time-intensive for the first probably six months and then kind of begins to slow down a little bit. Even something like that could be built in."

Ikerd also noted a distinction of the new committee.

"For a lot of those (other) volunteer positions, there's not a statutory per diem rate indicated as a possibility whereas this one there is," she said.

With that said, Gilmore said he doesn't think any of the suggested commission candidates would ask for or need any kind of per diem.

Commissioners took no formal action at the conclusion of the session.

For decades, Mercer County has used an assigned counsel system, which allows judges to appoint on a rotating basis attorneys who use their own staff and equipment to defend indigent defendants.

The system, Ingraham had said, works well. He appoints counsel taking into account a defendant's past record, if applicable, disposition and other factors.

Ingraham has maintained the system would continue to work into the future if there were enough participating attorneys.

However, there's only a handful local attorneys who now accept assignments for felony-level cases, Schiavone had said.

With a lack of local attorneys, Ingraham said he's had to seek out legal representatives from adjacent counties. A public defender system would alleviate some of these issues, he said.