The Berrien County Public Defender’s office has provided an update to county commissioners on the next year of operations. Speaking Thursday, Commissioner Jim Curran said Chief Public Defender Paul Jancha spoke with the county administration committee this week after the defender’s budget received approval for next year.
“The MIDC approved the amount of $4,012,953,” Curran said. “Our local Berrien County share is $579,598 for a total budget for 2023 for the public defender’s office of $4,592,552.”
Curran said the public defender’s office is fully staffed with Jancha noting he recently hired a full-time defender who’d started out with the office as an intern while still working toward her degree. The public defender’s office was created by the county commission in 2017.
