Washoe County commissioners Monday appointed Jeremy Bosler as the new local public defender. He replaces Jennifer Lunt, who has served on an interim basis since April 12 following the retirement of long-time public defender Michael Specchio.
The selection process had drawn criticism (“Conflict charged…” RN&R, April 21) at the local and national levels because it breached professional legal guidelines, including those of the American Bar Association, by including on the search committee figures like a district judge and the local district attorney. On April 27 the search committee was reconstituted when Nevada District Judge Jerry Polaha stepped down and community members were added, but Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick remained on the committee. Critics said that put Gammick in the position of influencing the selection of his own opposition in the courtroom.
Bosler has been serving as a deputy public defender, and Specchio had argued that “there is no valid reason to do anything other than appoint from within.”