By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Kosciusko County’s newest office — officially known as the Public Defenders Agency — is up and running, and its chief public defender, Jack Burch, says it will improve efficiency in the judicial system in several ways.
County leaders agreed in December to establish the office because of struggles in finding enough attorneys to serve in the role as public defender.
Burch, 59, who has been working to create the office since March, said the new approach was needed after the court system reached a breaking point last year as the local court system struggled to find enough lawyers skilled in criminal defense and was relying more and more on attorneys from outside Kosciusko County who were willing to provide representation to indigent offenders.
Judges had traditionally been in charge of assigning attorneys to criminal defendants.
The number of lawyers in the county has decreased in recent years and those who remain tend to be more specialized.
“The judges were really struggling to find enough lawyers who were willing and able,” Burch said.
Burch will be joined by three other full-time defense attorneys and five part-time attorneys who will handle the caseload.
The workload of the part-time lawyers is expected to take up much of their time, he said.
The office also includes an office administrator, Julie Pogue, and two legal assistants.
Centralizing case assignment through a singular structure is leading to cases being assigned in as quickly as one day, Burch said.
“We think we’re going to gain efficiencies with the courts scheduling-wise, resolving cases quicker, and we think we’re going to significantly create efficiencies for the sheriff’s department,” he said.
Officials also hope the change will speed up the time it takes those arrested to bond out of jail, which would further help reduce the inmate population.
“We’re all trying to figure out and develop a system to make that process faster and more efficient and make it better for everyone involved. So yes, that’s in the works,” Burch said.
Based on figures from the past two years, Burch said they predict (conservatively) the office will provide legal services for upward of 1,750 cases per year.
Creation of the agency had the support and guidance of the state Public Defender Commission and the existing local Public Defender Board, which has oversight over local operations.
Burch, who has been an attorney with a varied practice since 1991, ran for judge of the county circuit court last year but lost to Matthew Buehler.
Running a new office that can improve the judicial system has become a pleasant and exciting career change, he said.
“When I reflect back, maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. I think I might end up liking this better,” Burch said. “Ultimately, it might be more suited to my personality and my skillset.”
