Costs and Fines:  For many years the Law Office of the Public Defender has been litigating the lawful method courts may use to collect costs and fines from the indigent.  Many courts were failing to give credit against the assessed fines for days spent in jail leading to a never ending cycle of increasing costs and fines and repetitive arrests, perhaps over nothing more serious than jaywalking.  This was all at a tremendous cost to the taxpayers and very little was collected compared to the amount spent using the jail as a monetary collection tool.  Many courts were also holding people in direct contempt of court for failing to pay fines or costs, essentially imposing jail for an inability to pay.  The Ohio legislature has forbidden these practices for years under O.R.C. 2947.14.  After nine successful appeals by this office, some courts are now terminating many of the illegal warrants that exist.

Jail Overcrowding:  The Jail, after undergoing a renovation to add new beds, is once again overcrowded.  Is crime getting worse?  No.  FBI statistics have indicated dropping crime rates here and throughout the country.  Rather than to continue to build new beds, the justice system needs to look at who is in jail and why.  The Public Defender Office is joining other officials to pursue bail reform to help reduce overcrowding.

Office Achievements:  Each year in celebration of Law Day, May 1st, the Dayton Bar Association presents awards to deserving lawyers who merit special recognition as determined by Judges of each court division.  In 2013, Michael E. Deffet of our office received Outstanding Lawyer of the Year from the Montgomery County Juvenile Court.  Mike is seen here accepting his award. 

In 2011, Kay Locke of our office received Outstanding Lawyer of the Year from the Domestic Relations Division. 

Also on May 1, 2013, our Director, D.K. Rudy Wehner, accepted on behalf of the entire office the Appointed Counsel Award from the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, General Division, for special recognition for our service and contribution.  The award was presented by Judge Michael L. Tucker.

In 2016, attorney Kay Locke, Juvenile Division Manager, won the Noel E. Kaech Juvenile Defender Award for her impact and contribution to juvenile justice at the Ohio Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit.

Long time Assistant Public Defender Chuck Grove has been published.  He wrote the lead article for the recent edition of the University of Dayton Law Review on the new versions of Criminal Rule 16 and discovery in criminal cases in Ohio.  You can find his article in Volume 36, Number 2 of that publication.

The office has recently conducted a community forum and client clinic to support citizens interested in help with sealing records of conviction.  The forum was held at the YWCA downtown and the clinic at Dayton Municipal Court.  The office received special recognition for these efforts from the Dayton and Montgomery County Black Elected Officials, the Thurgood Marshall Law Society and the City of Dayton Human Relations Council.

Public Defender attorneys continue to contribute to the community through service to many programs.  These include board memberships to the Dayton Bar Association and its Foundation, service on the Dayton Bar Association Certified Grievance Committee and Criminal Law Committee, board service to the MonDay Correctional Program, and membership on the Criminal Justice Council, among many others.

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."    -  Frederick Douglass