Clark County Public DefenderPhil Kohn is coming up on 10 years in the job. He has to make sure that criminal defendants who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer have legal representation. In the decade in the job, he has improved the reputation of the office and brought bright young lawyers to work. Kohn has instituted a mentoring and training program to make sure that the new lawyers are ready to defend their clients when they appear in court. Phil Kohn and two of his proteges join us to explain why they do what they do, despite the common perception that they are getting guilty people off on technicalities and using the public dime to do it. Despite those questions, these lawyers insist they love what they do and would never think of going to practice a more lucrative kind of law.
Phil Kohn, Clark County Public Defender
Nadia Hojjat, Deputy Public Defender
Robert O'Brien, Deputy Public Defender