Collins Named Administrator of New Douglas County Office of Public Defense

Jesse Collins will be in charge of indigent defense for Douglas County Superior Court after being named the county's first ever Office of Public Defense Administrator.

Douglas County Commissioner Marc Straub said the county used to contract with outside attorney firms to handle their superior court defendants that couldn't pay for their own defense. However, by bringing the responsibilities in-house, Straub said the citizens of Douglas County get a better end product at a better value.

"He will be responsible for management of staff, which will initially include two additional staff attorneys as well as two support staff. (Collins will handle) budgeting for the office in addition to handling a small case load himself," said Straub.

The Office of Public Defense was established in February of this year and created an internal department to handle indigent defense for Douglas County Superior Court. It's also possible that the county's district court indigent defense may be rolled into the Office of Public Defense after its current deal with an outside agency is over.

Collins has been practicing indigent defense for over ten years, including adult, juvenile, misdemeanor and felony cases. The Douglas County Public Defender Selection Committee, which selected Collins, was comprised of Douglas County Superior Court judge Brian Huber, local attorney John Brangwin and Straub.

Collins will begin his tenure as Administrator April 18th.