COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Administrator Frank Walsh is expected to recommend to the Board of Commissioners during their work session Thursday afternoon that former county prosecutor and county commissioner Terri Norris be named as the new Chief Public Defender.
She was one of four applicants for the state funded position which has a posted salary of just under $121,000.
A six member committee reviewed the applications for a couple of hours last week. Walsh says in his memo to the Commissioners that since all of the applicates were well known to a majority of committee members, they decided to extend to a recommendation without a formal interview process.
Norris has been a licensed attorney since 2002. She was the Branch County Prosecuting Attorney between 2009 and 2013. Before that, she served as an assistant prosecutor.
Norris has had a private practice since 2013. She was also a public defender between 2015 and 2017 as well as from 2020 until the present.
Norris was a County Commissioner between 2017 and 2020.
The deadline for applications passed on July 3. The position became open when Matthew Glaser suddenly resigned on May 22 after almost six years on the job. No official reason was given for his departure.
The search committee consisted of Circuit Court Judge Bill O’Grady, District Court Judge Brent Weigle, Probate Court Judge Kirk Kashian, County Clerk Terry Kubasiak, County Commissioner Jon Houtz and Walsh.
We fired her for a reason. I can’t remember for sure but I think it was ethics related. Don’t bring her back!