December 23, 2020 By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com With a year of service to reflect on, the Livingston County Public Defenderâs Office is looking to add another attorney to its ranks. Chief Public Defender Karen Groenhout was before the Livingston County Board of Commissionerâs Public Safety and Infrastructure and Development Committee meeting, held online, Monday. When the Public Defenderâs Office was originally set up last year, one of the unknowns was how many attorneys they would need. Groenhout said she thought they had enough, but when the Office started covering arraignments- a new process for the county- she said it quickly became an overwhelming task. Groenhout said they began with having their attorneys rotate who would cover arraignments on days they didnât have to make appearances, but she eventually had to pull one to just focus on that full time. She said it proved to be a logistical nightmare for her office and the courts, as it was too much work to cover with the set up they had. With the current amount of filings they have, she said it is difficult to give both their clients and the courts the service that everyone needs.