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Dakota County Considering Cutting Public Defender's Office
June 5, 2006
KTIV-TV (IA)
By Kristen Johnson
Dakota County, Nebraska, commissioners are considering dissolving the public defender's office. It's a suggestion made in a letter from Cedar County attorney, George Hirschbach.
Hirschbach is the special prosecutor, who handled the criminal case against public defender Bryan Smith. Last week, Hirschbach dropped the case rather than compromise a pending civil lawsuit from Smith's former secretary, Mary Goodman-Gamble.
Some commissioners question a plan to dissolve the defender's office and "contract out" the work to local attorneys as a way to save money. When the commissioners created that office 25 years ago, it was seen as the "cheapest" option for providing legal service to folks who couldn't otherwise afford it.
If they choose to dissolve the public defender's office, they will first have to get public input. Commissioners tabled any decision so they can do more research. |
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National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
1660 L St., NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 872-8600 • Fax (202) 872-8690 •
assist@nacdl.org
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