The man who recommended a “hybrid” Public Defender Office to the Berrien County Board and was later appointed to that very role has tendered his resignation two years later to return to his native West Coast for a new role in law there.
Berrien County Chief Public Defender Carl Macpherson turned in his resignation yesterday to pave the way for a position that will have him lead the Metropolitan Public Defender Office in Portland, Oregon. It’s a move that will also pave the way for his children to attend college in that part of the country.
Berrien County Administrator Bill Wolf accepted his letter of resignation with regret, saying, “While he will be sorely missed, I am happy that he has this professional opportunity and chance to spend more time with his family.”
Macpherson was instrumental in helping the county determine their direction several years ago when, in 2015, in anticipation of state mandated standards for the legal representation of indigent individuals charged with a crime, the County Board of Commissioners established the position of an Indigent Defense Administrator. Macpherson had been hired to fill that position and while in that role he was charged with closely reviewing the indigent defense structure of the county in order to measure its compliance with those expected state standards.
Wolf says that in September of 2016, Carl presented his findings to the Board of Commissioners and recommended that a “hybrid” Public Defender Office be created with a staff including full time and contractual attorneys. A month later, in October of 2016, the Board created the Berrien County Public Defender Office with Carl as the Chief Public Defender.
Under his direction, the department has forged its place in the Berrien County criminal justice community and Carl has worked with all aspects of that community to assure that high quality legal representation is provided for all citizens of the County.
Wolf says that as a result of Macpherson’s resignation, the Administration staff “Will begin the steps of filling this critical position as Carl’s last day at Berrien County will be July 31, 2018.” Stay tuned.
