BEND, Ore. (AP) - A state contract for a Central Oregon legal defense group has not been extended after allegations of lying to court staff to receive more money.
The Bulletin in Bend reports the general counsel of the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services sent a memo Tuesday to the office’s executive director and the head of its commission telling them why the office had elected to not extend its contract with the Madras Indigent Defense Consortium.
The office’s general counsel Eric J. Deitrick wrote that it became clear that MIDC was manipulating case assignments by providing misrepresentations to the court about case quota. Deitrick also wrote that the office learned through news articles that one of the MIDC lawyers is the subject of a law enforcement investigation into the suspected arson of his own law office.
Consortium member Tim Gassner called the allegations of manipulating caseload “completely manufactured” and said assertions regarding the arson were rumor-mongering.
Deitrick said the 22nd Judicial District doesn’t need two contracted public defense firms and suggested lawyers involved with MIDC could join the 22nd District Defenders.
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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com
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