County Public Defender Study Commission holds its first listening session

ELYRIA — The Lorain County Public Defender Study Commission held its first public listening session Thursday to take input from the public on whether, and why, the county should create a dedicated public defender's office. About 30 members of the public, including current and former criminal defendants, licensed attorneys and and an elected judge, weighed in on what it would mean to have a taxpayer-funded office of civil servants representing indigent criminal defendants in Lorain County courts. Supporters said it would improve accountability and the quality of criminal defense. Critics said it would cost too much and wouldn't guarantee the quality of criminal defense would go up. Lorain County is one of the largest counties in Ohio without a dedicated public defender's office, and a number of counties smaller than Lorain County have them, overseen by a appointed county public defender commissions. No official decisions were made during or after Thursday's listening session, which was held on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building and lasted more than an hour. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney for those accused of a crime. If a criminal defendant can't afford an attorney, one is provided for them, paid for by taxpayers. Lorain County judges currently appoint private attorneys for defendants who are indigent, meaning those unable to pay, and Lorain County taxpayers cover the cost. The county then applies for reimbursement from the state Public Defender's Office at a rate set every year, which may be less than 100 percent. Whatever isn't reimbursed by the state is paid by Lorain County taxpayers. County commissioners, who did not attend Thursday's meeting, established the study commission in February to look at how the county provides legal representation to people who can't afford their own attorney. Commission President Mark Ballard Sr. said further listening sessions will be held in the future. Ballard, veteran defense attorney Zack Simonoff, attorney Brian Lee, Elyria Municipal Judge Gary Bennett and Sheffield Lake Ward 3 City Councilman Aden Fogel — a convicted felon who said he has experience with court-appointed legal counsel — are the members of the commission. Lee was the only member of the commission who did not attend Thursday's session. A public defender's office would be required to have an equal number of attorneys, investigators and support staff as the county Prosecutor's Office, with nearly equal pay and a budget. That "is not going to be cheaper than what court-appointed attorneys cost the county," said Lorain County Domestic Relations Judge Lisa Swenski, who is married to Simonoff. And even if a public defender's office is created, court-appointed attorneys would still be required to handle cases where there are conflicts of interest, or those with specialized or complicated facts like in death penalty cases. Not all Ohio lawyers are licensed to represent defendants facing the death penalty but all are ethically obligated to represent their court-appointed clients to the best of their ability, local defense attorneys Matthew Bobrowski and Jenifer Berki-Merrill said. "It's not true that we are not effective," Bobrowski said. "We work very hard," said Berki Merrill, chairperson of the criminal law section of the Lorain County Bar Association, in a system that requires significant legal and trial experience. A public defender "is not going to be as good," she said. "There's good and there's bad" public defenders in the region, veteran criminal defense attorney James Ingalls said, and bad ones could be allowed to "hide behind a big government office." Other speakers Thursday said a public defender's office would be fair, organized, efficient and accountable; better communicate with its clients; and help those who earn too much money to qualify for help from free or low-cost legal defense programs. Alfred Cleveland, convicted of a 1991 Lorain murder he maintains he didn't commit and a member of the so-called "Ohio 4" defendants, told the commission that hiring a lawyer to defend him was too expensive so he took his chances with a court appointment. Since paroled from a lengthy prison sentence, Cleveland said he wants court-appointed defense attorneys to have better monitoring and oversight like the kind a public defender's office could provide. An "Indigent Defense Survey" with questions for the public can be found on the county's website at LorainCountyOhio.gov. Christopher Hinds, who shared an experience with a court-appointed attorney he said was disappointing, suggested all who get court-appointed counsel receive a feedback survey afterward. That's something that could be done now, he said. Simonoff, who has been critical of starting a taxpayer-funded public defender's office in the past, said Thursday he is keeping an open mind and wants a public, evidence-based process. He said more than 120 responses already had been received. "We've had great feedback" so far, Ballard said. An Ohio prison inmate who has spent 30 years on death row following a murder conviction in Lorain County Common Pleas Court also weighed in on the matter before the commission. "A public-defense system cannot simply provide a lawyer and consider its obligation fulfilled," death row inmate Stanley Jalowiec said in a statement emailed to The Chronicle-Telegram by one of his representatives. "The representation must be independent, thorough, properly resourced and prepared to challenge the state. When a person's life is at stake, there may never be another opportunity to get it right." Convicted in 1996 of killing a police informant and sentenced to death, Jalowiec wrote that he supports the Public Defender Study Commission listening session "because people who have experienced the court-appointed system firsthand should have a meaningful voice in how that system is evaluated and improved. "This is not only about me," Jalowiec said. "Every person who enters a courtroom without the ability to hire private counsel is depending on that system to function as it was intended. The strength of a justice system should not depend on the size of a defendant's bank account." Fogel shared that sentiment. "I don't think you can put a price on justice or good, solid representation," he said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.