GREENFIELD — The Hancock County court system will soon have its first full-time public defender. Jeremy Teipen, a veteran of the Marion County prosecutor’s office, has been hired to head the county’s new office, which will launch at the start of 2022.
Teipen was chosen for the job by the county’s public defender board, headed by attorney Jonathan Albright. Albright said Teipen stood out from other candidates because of his extensive experience trying cases as a deputy prosecutor.
“He has tried several hundred felony cases,” Albright said. “…Jeremy not only had more than the requisite job experience, he had a long history of supervisory and management positions.”
The hire was approved unanimously by the public defender board.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Teipen has been with the Marion County prosecutor’s office for nearly 18 years. He has bachelor’s and law degrees from Indiana University.
Teipen is expected to start his work for the county on Nov. 29. He will hire two other attorneys — a deputy chief public defender and a staff attorney — to fill out the new department’s staff.
The public defender has never before been a permanent position in Hancock County. Instead, the court system has relied on hiring attorneys to represent indigent clients on a case-by-case basis, something Albright said has become more difficult in recent years as fewer lawyers are available and willing to take on the task.
Salaries approved for the new public defender’s office are $156,125 for the chief public defender; $117,094 for a deputy public defender; and $70,000 for a staff attorney. An office manager will earn $54,182, and a legal secretary will be paid $33,814.
The move to create the new department is expected to save the county money compared with the cost of hiring attorneys for each individual case.
Albright said the public defender board has put out a request for proposals for office space in the county to be used for the new office and would like to have a space ready by the end of December, pending the approval of the county commissioners.