In July, Churchill County Commissioners approved the creation of a local Public Defender’s Office to provide indigent individuals with legal counsel in criminal cases. The office is slated to open November and will employ Jacob Sommer, Esq., as the Churchill County Public Defender. Along with Sommer, the office will include a second attorney serving as deputy along with a legal secretary.
Sommer, who settled with his family in Fallon immediately after clerking for Judge David Huff, has been involved in criminal defense work for the entirety of his career. Gaining courtroom experience even before graduating law school at UNLV in 2006, Sommer also worked for the Federal Defenders Office and developed what would prove to be a lifelong passion for indigent defense. “I fell in love with it because it was an area of practice that allowed me to use the skills I had to benefit the people who needed it the most,” Sommer explained.
Although sad that he will be closing his private practice, Sommer sees the change as a great new opportunity and is happy to step into it. As things stand now, he represents approximately 50% of the clients that are appointed a public defender, but on a contractual basis. Charles Woodman, Esq., handles most of the remaining cases. Once the office doors open in November, the bulk of the current and future caseloads will be transferred to the Public Defender’s Office barring any conflicts of interest.
According to Sommer, he and Woodman are appointed approximately 40-50 new cases each month with about 60-70 active cases already in process. With the number of cases holding fairly steady, he is confident his office will be able to manage the numbers quite well as they will be dedicated to indigent defense and offer no other legal services.
The role of a modern public defender doesn’t begin and end in the courtroom. A great deal of time is spent attempting to help clients get much-needed assistance with the issues involved in their lives. In Churchill County, it’s not uncommon for defense attorneys to advocate for a variety of sentencing alternatives when lesser crimes are committed by individuals with addiction issues, mental health problems, homelessness, and other problems that may affect their likelihood to re-offend. “There is definitely an undercurrent of substance abuse issues in many cases,” Sommer stated, regarding what he has seen over the last 15 years. “There are a great number of additional factors, including mental health issues.”
Fortunately, the community now offers more services that help clients break the cycle of addiction and provide much needed behavioral health care. “It’s a breath of fresh air to have had New Frontier Treatment Center expand their services,” Sommer continued, “especially with mental health and specialty court services. They are doing amazing work.”
Often asked why he chose a career defending people who commit crimes, Sommer has a two-fold answer. “With a minor in political science and a deep love for this country and government, I see that we need rule and structure,” Sommer explained, “and we need a mechanism to balance the governance of our elected officials. The Office of the Public Defender provides an opportunity to pushback when needed, in a meaningful way. We have seen the effects of unchecked law enforcement over the last year and we have to be sure that we are responsible for that power. My job isn’t to excuse poor behavior, but make the government do their job. There is a measuring stick – if someone falls short, I need to be there to call them on it.”
In Churchill County, only a small percentage of defendants can afford to retain legal counsel. While many factors impact the commission of crimes, poverty is among the most significant. Public Defenders can help ensure that defendants, regardless of income level, have access to the defense to which they are constitutionally entitled.
Sommer also wants to remind the community that there is another side of the story to criminal acts. “There is a real human side,” Sommer states, frustrated with the harsh comments often made on Facebook and social media. “I wish they knew what it was like to be charged with a crime,” Sommer continued, “we need to hold people accountable, but we need to be kinder than we are.”
Since 2008, there have been many legislative efforts to improve public defense in rural counties, and in 2019, the State Legislature created the Board on Indigent Defense Services (BIDS) to “promulgate standards for the delivery of indigent defense services throughout the state.” As Sommer attests, “Public Defense really does benefit our community.”
Slated to open on November 2nd, the Public Defenders’ Office will be housed in the former Chamber of Commerce building at 85 N. Taylor Street. Both the positions for Legal Secretary and Deputy Public Defender have been posted at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/churchill.
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