Supervisors could appoint public defender Thursday

The Carson City Board of Supervisors will consider appointing a public defender for the new Carson City Office of the Public Defender at their Thursday meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in the community center.

The potential appointment is scheduled for 2 p.m. Before the board can appoint a public defender, they will consider the second reading of an ordinance establishing the office. Supervisors unanimously approved the first reading June 1. Beside the ordinance, supervisors will consider a roughly $2 million budget to establish the office. That amount is for fiscal year 2024 and would be offset by money that would have gone to the Nevada State Public Defender’s Office (SPD) as well as through reimbursement from the Nevada Department of Indigent Defense Services (DIDS).

The city contracted with the state for indigent legal defense services for 25 years before a staffing shortage at the state office this spring caused the city to seek its own office.

Supervisors will consider a five-year lease with Tanglewood LLC for the city to rent about 4,200 square feet of office space at 755 N. Roop St. The space would house the new defender’s office and would cost approximately $328,272, according to a staff report.

“The city is proposing to add 13 positions in fiscal year 2024 to establish the CCPD; however, the city does not have sufficient office space available to house the new office,” reads the report. “It is estimated that the CCPD will need at least eight office spaces with up to five additional workstations for support staff. The proposed lease and premises will accommodate all 13 personnel initially with sufficient space to add additional workstations as needed.”

Regarding the appointment of the public defender, supervisors will consider setting a starting annual salary of approximately $151,445. According to city staff, recruitment for the position closed June 7, and the city received one application from Dayton resident Charles H. Odgers.

According to his application, Odgers, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, has worked for SPD, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office and the city of Ely. Odgers was also director of labor relations for the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada from 1995 to 2004. As a Marine reservist, Odgers served 10 months in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, earning a Navy Achievement Medal.

In the application, Odgers said he provided “zealous representation” when he was chief deputy public defender at SPD.

“As the chief, it was my responsibility to ensure the clients received the same quality of service they would receive if they retained counsel,” Odgers wrote.

According to the State Bar of Nevada, which is overseen by the Nevada Supreme Court, Odgers was publicly reprimanded in 2012 for “entering into a business arrangement with a non-lawyer, engaging in the unauthorized practice of law and failure to communicate with client.”

The report, which appeared in Nevada Lawyer, can be viewed online: https://www.nvbar.org/wp-content/uploads/NevLawyer_Sept_2012_OBC-1.pdf.

In 2014, Odgers was disciplined by the Nevada Supreme Court. A two-year suspension of law practice was stayed subject to Odgers’ compliance with the court’s conditions.

In other action:

• Supervisors will select the winner of the “I Voted” sticker contest organized by the clerk-recorder’s office.

The public art contest ran from March 30 to April 26. Five finalists were selected from entries. The winning sticker will be used for the 2024 election cycle, including the presidential preference primary election in February, the June primary election and November general election.

According to the clerk-recorder’s office, the winning design will be used for about 25,000 stickers for distribution at polling locations and the courthouse.