Public defender set to retire
A long career will come to a close as Auglaize County Public Defender Gerald Siesel will be leaving his office as of Jan. 20. He informed county commissioners about his decision to retire in November.
Siesel has been working for the public defender’s office since 1981 and has practiced law since 1976. He was hired by public defender Glen Derryberry and has worked with 8,200 public defender clients, and more than 12,000 private clients during his law career.
“There’s always that internal mechanism in your brain and in your body that says click, it’s time to move on to different challenges. I think it’s a combination of things — 2020 was a very challenging year for a variety of reasons, including the COVID, and you get a different perspective on life,” Siesel said of the reason why he is moving on.
His term doesn’t end until 2022. The office is governed by a five- person
commission. That commission is
expected to make an announcement on who will take over his position as Siesel’s retirement nears.
He said at the time he joined the public defender’s office attorneys were in private practice and took on the role as an additional obligation. Public defenders used to operate out of their private offices and were reimbursed by the county.
In 198, Mark Weller was elected public defender and held that position until 2010; Siesel worked with him as a deputy public defender. He said in the late 1980s they shared office space.
After Weller’s retirement Siesel wanted to transition the office into the courthouse and separate the private practice from the public defenders office. In total, Siesel was in private practice for 35 years. He looks back on that integration into the courthouse as a major accomplishment and gave credit to former county administrator Joe Lenhart and office manager Anna Gibson, for working with him on that transition.
He said when he first took over Weller’s position, they had two attorneys, a secretary and a case load of about 500 cases. That number has risen significantly.
“Our case load is in excess of 900,” Siesel said. Office manager Mandy Crowell explained last year the state provided them with a web- based program to help manage clients, which has helped make their case load manageable.
They now have a full- time administrator and an additional full- time attorney. He said they recently incorporated the use of interns, which have led to some being hired on into full- time positions at the defender’s and prosecutor’s offices.
Siesel considers one of his major accomplishments to be his record on death penalty cases. Of the seven death penalty cases he has had, not one of the individuals were sentenced to death. He considers that a success in saving their life.
A non- death penalty case that sticks out in his mind is a case that went cold for 30 years that was solved in St. Marys. His office was involved in representing one of those co- defendants, which were then found guilty.
Siesel explained why he stuck with the public defender office for decades.
“I was committed to that type of practice,” Siesel said.
His wife is a retired administrator for Lima City Schools and liked working in the intercity schools dealing with people who have challenges and disadvantages. Siesel felt the same about his line of work.
“A typical client comes from a dysfunctional family, he said. “Because of that, they lack education, because of that they lack employment skills, because of that they get into trouble early in life, because of that they might be involved with the drug culture or alcoholism. You put that all together and it makes it very difficult to function and you end up on the wrong side of the law.
He believes his role in the public defender’s office is to help clients readjust where they are headed in life and not just get them through the present case.
He said when he engages with a client who is later doing well, it gives him a sense of accomplishment.
He said judges and prosecutors have the same mind set in their work, including helping people get their licenses back, and utilizing rehabilitation and counseling programs, especially intervention in lieu of conviction.
In retirement, Siesel said he will be taking life as it goes. He and his wife hope to be able to travel and visit family around the country including his son, daughter and three grandchildren. In the next month he wants to visit somewhere warm and bask in the sun.
In a statement released by Crowell she said Siesel will be painting, researching old cars, and pursuing his passion for history. Siesel is active in the Lion’s Club and chairs the First Baptist Daycare Board in Lima.
“Jerry’s dedication and commitment to this office, his clients and the integrity of the criminal justice system is something to be celebrated. As a boss, he is fair compassionate and family- oriented. He takes a genuine interest in all of our lives and is a mentor to all of us. Jerry is thorough and meticulous with every case he is involved in. Jerry treats all of his clients with the same level of enthusiasm and vigorously defends each and every one of them,” Crowell wrote. building. Students came up with six main issues, mental health, problems in the bathroom ( students feeling uncomfortable during class changes because of smoking and vaping), substance abuse, masks not being worn correctly, technology ( not having access to online homework), and student interactions that can lead to mental and emotional stress ( and sometimes physical harm).
Minnig, for one, was happy with how the first meeting went.
"It was really interesting to hear what each individual group felt was an issue," Minnig said.
And for his part, he plans on holding meetings monthly so as to develop solutions in order to address these issues.
"The purpose for the advisor council [ is threefold],” Minnig added. "We wanted to give the students a voice and allow each of them to be a part of the solution. [ Second], we want students to hear and hopefully understand the administrative point of view. And three…. this is not a complying group, but a group that works towards positive change and solutions."
And by doing these things, Minnig hopes to create a school culture where every student feels safe and cared for.
But as of now, Minnig plans to share concerns by the committee with the entire staff in oder for them to become aware of issues and to be able to respond to them, should the need for intervention arise.
He also believes the school is heading in the correct direction in terms of recognizing and acknowledging problems.
"I'm proud of our kids that were a part of this, and I appreciate Mr. Selvey and Mrs. Zwiebel's assistance in this endeavor," Minnig said. ' I'm super- excited to see where this group leads us, and hopefully people will start to see the differences within our building."
Minnig was also impressed with how everything went.
"For our first meeting, not exactly knowing what to expect, I came away super- proud of thee kids, and [ it's] exciting to know that we're going to be working together to make our building a better place."