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But Montana's PD reform continues
As Arbitrary and Capricious notes, Montana's new public defender has just told all chief and deputy public defenders in the state that their jobs have been eliminated. This makes sense because the state is moving from a public defender system in which PDs were county employees to one in which all PDs will be state employees.
So what does this mean for a soon-to-graduate law student who would like to become a public defender in Montana? I have no idea. The one report we have of this says that “The terminated chief and deputy chief public defenders can apply for the regional and public defender jobs, according to Hood's letter.” So I assume that most—it not all—former chief and deputy PDs will end up doing much the same thing they do now; the only difference is they will report to the state's chief public defender rather than to a county board. If that's the case, this move won't create any PD vacancies in the state, meaning this move won't change my chances of getting a job there.
I could be wrong, though. I hope so. Fat Tire is widely available throughout Montana.
Other posts about Montana's new public defender system:
Posted 09:23 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack | Montana crimlaw
