Attorney Susan Chapman appointed as public defender.

Monterey County's new public defender, Susan Chapman, takes the reins effective Dec. 24 after some 30 years in private practice as a defense attorney. 

She's represented clients in several recent high-profile cases, including former King City cop Bobby Carrillo and pain physician Dr. Steven Mangar.

She's served for 15 years as an alternate public defender—stepping in to represent clients in cases in which the Public Defender's Office has a conflict of interest, or is unable to provide representation—and for the past six months, has been the interim chief of the Alternate Public Defender. 

"I really enjoyed the administrative aspects of the job, which kind of surprised me," Chapman says. "[The public defender job] is really exciting it's going to be a new challenge."

Her first order of business, she says, is about boosting morale among the 47 attorneys and other staff: "I want to develop a real positive energy that I think has been missing for a while."

Chapman oversaw the alternate public defender's office while the former alternate chief, Frank Dice, has been serving as interim public defender since Jim Egar resigned in June. 

Egar was the Monterey County public defender for a decade, and left amid tension with county staff. Egar had led the charge in a lawsuit against Monterey County on behalf of jail inmates arguing that medical care, disability accommodations and mental health services were woefully inadequate. 

Egar lodged a formal complaint against county officials, alleging they'd retaliated against him for his efforts to improve conditions for inmates. 

“It’s tough to speak truth to power sometimes,” Egar told the County Board of Supervisors in his final remarks on June 14. “But don’t be a public defender if you want to be popular.”