DEFENDER'S OFFICE ADDS NEW ATTORNEY

JACKSON -- A new attorney joined the staff as an assistant public defender in the Southeast Missouri district of the state's public defender system.

Attorney Dane Roper was added to the staff Monday, said Kenton Hall, district defender and managing attorney of the district office.

Roper was added to the staff to fill the vacancy created when Chuck Taylor left the public defender's office in February to enter private practice. Roper's addition restores the number of public defender attorneys in the district to eight.

Roper graduated from St. Louis University Law School in May 1997. He continued on at the law school for several months working as a recruiter for the school.

He then joined Legal Aid in St. Louis where he continued until taking the position with the public defender's office.

Roper's initial responsibilities in the office will be misdemeanor cases in Cape Girardeau County.

The public defender's office provides legal representation for people who are charged with a violation of state criminal statutes but can't afford an attorney. Each year the district office handles more than 2,000 cases.

The district office covers Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Perry and Scott Counties.