L.A. Official Picked to Head San Diego Public Defender Unit
A veteran Los Angeles County public defender has been selected as chief of San Diego County’s newly created system for representing poor people accused of crimes.
Francis J. Bardsley, 45, was named unanimously to the post of public defender by the Board of Supervisors during a closed hearing.
Bardsley, who is scheduled to start work Oct. 17, will manage an office of 159 attorneys and an annual budget of $11.5 million. Bardsley, a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law, joined the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office in 1969 and quickly worked his way to the supervisory level.
He currently serves as chief of the special services bureau, a unit of 50 lawyers that includes juvenile, mental health and civil divisions scattered in 11 locations.
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