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A Q&A With Alex Bunin

By Steve Hall

"A voice for the poor in court," is the title of Brian Rogers' interview with Harris County Public Defender Alex Bunin.  Here's an extended excerpt: Alex Bunin, hired to create Harris County's first public defender office, will begin working with his staff to represent mentally ill defendants facing misdemeanor charges and appeals cases for the indigent by February. Bunin, 51, has created federal public defender offices in Alabama, Vermont and New York and expects the Harris County agency to expand its case­load to include juvenile and felony cases within two years. Suspects in Houston too poor to hire a lawyer historically have had court-appointed attorneys. The public defender office is a pilot project funded for the next four years in part by grant money, after which Commissioners Court can decide to continue it, expand it or close it...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on January 10, 2011 (boomark / email).