Chief Public Defender

Under the direction and supervision of the County Administrator, the Chief Public Defender serves as the attorney of record of all indigent adults in criminal cases ensuring that Benzie/Manistee County meets all constitutional and legislative requirements as they pertain to the representation of indigent adult offenders. The Public Defender is responsible for development, implementation, oversight and direction of the Public Defender Office and the indigent defense private counsel conflict/overflow list. This includes staffing, training supervising, counseling, disciplining the office, and maintaining full compliance of the State of Michigan/LARA requirements. For a complete job description, please click here.  first emailed 7/10/26