By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

With a year of service to reflect on, the Livingston County Public Defender’s Office is looking to add another attorney to its ranks.

Chief Public Defender Karen Groenhout was before the Livingston County Board of Commissioner’s Public Safety and Infrastructure and Development Committee meeting, held online, Monday.

When the Public Defender’s Office was originally set up last year, one of the unknowns was how many attorneys they would need. Groenhout said she thought they had enough, but when the Office started covering arraignments- a new process for the county- she said it quickly became an overwhelming task. Groenhout said they began with having their attorneys rotate who would cover arraignments on days they didn’t have to make appearances, but she eventually had to pull one to just focus on that full time. She said it proved to be a logistical nightmare for her office and the courts, as it was too much work to cover with the set up they had. With the current amount of filings they have, she said it is difficult to give both their clients and the courts the service that everyone needs.

Groenhout asked the committee to recommend approval for the hiring of a new Public Defender so that they may have 2 attorneys to handle felony cases, full time. Committee Chair Bob Bezotte said they talked about adjustments when setting up the department and he felt this falls in line. Commissioner Doug Helzerman asked if COVID had any effect on the need for this position, and would it change when the pandemic ends. Groenhout said that though cases dipped early, they are back where they thought they would be. Her attorneys, she said, are scheduled to handle about 150 felonies each, each year.

Funding for the position is 100% funded through a grant from the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, and thus would not cost taxpayers anything extra. The Committee approved the creation of the new Public Defender position unanimously, with it then finding similar approval from the County Finance Committee meeting and the full Board of Commissioners.