Commissioners likely have to rescind, redo Feb. 27 public defender vote

County commissioners are going to have to redo a resolution they passed last month intending to create an advisory group to study the need for a public defender's office in Lorain County. Two members of the advisory group commissioners intended to create, Zach Simonoff and Elyria Municipal Judge Gary Bennett, said a Feb. 27 resolution passed by commissioners was in error. State law said sitting judges can't serve on a public defender commission, which would leave Bennett out. The veteran judge said the process needs to be done the right way by creating an advisory group or committee to make recommendations to commissioners, not a legal body with final decision-making power. Simonoff also was concerned about the language of the official resolution he saw. What commissioners did "is not a study committee as stated" but a final commission, he said, which was not their intent. Bennett said it needs to be clear he's serving on a study group or advisory board. "That's what it was was supposed to be from the get-go and that's what they need to do," he said, meaning commissioners. Commissioners will have to rescind or amend the Feb. 27 resolution and make it clear they are creating an advisory body and not a final commission with decision-making powers. Bennett said he was "certain" the resolution he saw was a mistake and wrote commissioners a letter saying so. Commissioner David Moore, who has championed forming a county public defender's office for what he said are financial and fairness reasons and has taken lead for commissioners on the project, said Friday if his board has to fix another mistake, it will do that. "If the prosecutor's office comes up and says it's not good, then we'll tweak it again," he said. It would be another "tweak" after two false starts in December and January. Commissioners on Feb. 27 chose Mark Ballard, Aden Fogel and Brian Lee for the group along with Bennett and Simonoff. Bennett said he and the other six judges in the Elyria, Lorain, Avon Lake, Oberlin and Vermilion municipal courts appoint more attorneys than any other judges in the county, in cases ranging from misdemeanor domestic violence to felony rape and murder. A majority of the time, the six Common Pleas judges just reaffirm the counsel appointments the municipal judges make, Bennett said. The first study group meeting is likely to be April 8 at Elyria Municipal Court, he said. Bennett has decades of service in the legal system while Simonoff, a veteran defense attorney who is married to county Domestic Relations/Juvenile Judge Lisa Swenski, has chaired the county Bar Association's Criminal Defense section. Ballard is on the Lorain City Schools Board of Education, Lee is an attorney who serves on the county Port Authority Board of Directors and Fogel was elected to Sheffield Lake Council, representing the city's third ward, in November. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees legal representation for those accused of a crime. Lorain County judges typically appoint private attorneys to represent those who can't afford one. Those attorneys bill the county, which submits the bills to the state Public Defender's Office and is reimbursed all or a portion of the cost. The county paid approximately $3.8 million for indigent defense in 2024. Moore said he wants to know if a public defender's office would be cheaper than that. Critics say a public defender's office wouldn't eliminate the need for court-appointed attorneys in some cases and might cost more than the current system. Twenty-six of Ohio's 88 counties have dedicated public defender's offices. Moore said commissioners will adjust the resolution if it requires another adjustment. "We just want everyone to calm down and have some intelligent conversation" about a proposed county public defender's office. If another error was made, "we can correct it," Moore said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.