Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010433
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Laurence Hammack
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Effective today, the new location will be 209 First St., between F.L. Moose Jewelers and Roanoke Book and Stationery Co. in downtown Roanoke.
The move comes at a time when the office is hiring a ninth lawyer to deal with a growing caseload in Roanoke courts.
Public Defender Ray Leven said funding for a new lawyer was approved recently by the state Public Defender Commission, but he had to delay making a hire until he could find a new office with more space.
The state-funded office - which includes Leven, eight assistant public defenders, two investigators and four secretaries - represents criminal defendants who cannot afford to hire attorneys.
Since the office was created in 1976, it has seen a steadily increasing caseload. In the past fiscal year, the office handled the cases of more than 3,000 people charged with nearly 6,000 offenses.
Leven said more people are coming to depend on court-appointed lawyers in recent years. "That may be a sign of the economic times," he said.
The new three-floor location, with more than twice the space of the office's cramped quarters in the Southwest Virginia Savings Bank building, leaves room for additional expansion.
The office had been in the Southwest Virginia building since before 1980, when Leven was appointed public defender with a staff of five lawyers.
by CNB