For Immediate Release:
May 17, 2005

Contact: Allison Manning
Phone: 404-232-8900

Martin Leaving Public Defender Standards Council,

Plans to Pursue Other Interests

Atlanta - Mike Mears, director of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, announced today that Chief Legal Officer Jim Martin will be stepping down from his position with GPDSC effective May 20, 2005.

Martin has worked for the Standards Council since January 2004 and was instrumental in the passage of legislation that created and funded Georgia's new state-wide public defender system. Prior to his employment with GPDSC, Martin served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for 18 years and was appointed Commissioner of Human Resources by Governor Roy Barnes in 2001. Martin served in that position during the administrations of both Governor Barnes and current Governor Sonny Perdue.

In announcing his decision to step down Martin said, "It has been a privilege to work with Mike Mears, the council members and the staff of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council in establishing a statewide public defender system that insures equal access to justice in our state." Martin stated that he plans to pursue other interests following his resignation.

"The great strides made during the first year and a half of the new state-wide system would not have been possible without the assistance of Jim Martin. Although Jim's title is chief legal officer, he has been involved at every level in the implementation of Georgia 's new public defender system," Mears said. "He will be sorely missed and everyone on the council and staff wish him success in the future."

The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council is an independent agency within the judicial branch of state government. Passed in 2003 by the Georgia General Assembly, the Indigent Defense Act created the agency and charged it with assuring that adequate and effective legal representation is provided, independent of political and private interests to all indigent defendants in Georgia. The new system consists of circuit public defender offices or alternative indigent defense programs in each of Georgia's judicial circuits and became operational on January 1, 2005.

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