After firing public defense commissioners, new members named

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The day after Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters fired all nine members of the state commission that oversees public defense, she said Tuesday that she was appointing four new commissioners and reappointing five commissioners from the previous group. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports Walters had removed the entire commission amid frustration that hundreds of defendants charged with crimes and who cannot afford an attorney have been unable to obtain public defenders to represent them. Last week, Walters unsuccessfully urged the commission to fire Steve Singer, the relatively new executive director of the Office of Public Defense Services. The new commission says it will meet with its attorneys Wednesday to review and evaluate his job performance.