TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group of senators used a confirmation hearing as a chance to raise their concerns about the level of support for funding the Kansas public defender system.
The Topeka Capital Journal reports questions were raised Wednesday during hearings to confirm appointments by Gov. Sam Brownback to various state agency positions. Among them were Paul Eugene Beck and Kevin Mark Smith, who were named to the Board of Indigent Defense.
Sen. Tim Owens, an Overland Park Republican, asked the pair if they would be willing to press Brownback for funding to keep the public defenders’ office functioning.
Beck and Smith indicated they would push for funds to make certain that defendants had access to competent legal counsel.
