Humboldt County public defender resigns

By Hunter Cresswell, Times-Standard.com

POSTED: 11/23/17, 5:48 PM PST

Nine months into his tenure, Humboldt County Public Defender David
Marcus resigned this week following a special closed session meeting
of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

Marcus couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. A request for
comment was left with the Humboldt County public defender's office.

"He has resigned," 4th District Humboldt County Supervisor Virginia
Bass confirmed Thursday morning.

Bass said she could not discuss in detail the events of the previous
day's closed session meeting, but confirmed Marcus resigned after
board's meeting concluded.

According to the agenda, the meeting included a conference with legal
counsel "to consider the evaluation of performance of a public
employee and to hear complaints or charges brought against the
employee by another person or employee."

A request for Marcus' letter of resignation made to the Humboldt
County Administrative Office went unreturned by Thursday evening's
publishing deadline.

"David Marcus resigned last night at 9:15," 1st District Humboldt
County Supervisor Rex Bohn said Thursday.

He said an interim public defender will "hopefully" be named in the next week.

"I have full faith in the public defender's office that the people
who need to be represented will be fully represented," Bohn said.

Other county supervisors didn't return requests for comment on
Marcus' resignation on Thursday.

Since the Board of Supervisors announced his hiring in February,
Marcus has been dogged with questions about his qualifications. In
September, visiting Judge Marjorie Carter ruled there was enough
evidence to continue Eureka attorney Patrik Griego's civil lawsuit
filed against Humboldt County over Marcus' hiring. Griego, who didn't
return a request for comment Thursday, had argued that Marcus didn't
meet the requirements to be the public defender.

"A person is not eligible to the office of public defender unless he
has been a practicing attorney in all of the courts of the state for
at least the year preceding the date of his election or appointment,"
the California Government Code Section 27701 states.

Marcus was previously Lassen County's public defender from 2005 to
2011 but spent the five years prior to his appointment in Humboldt
County working as the CEO of a dental company and as a contract
lawyer on the East Coast.

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