Rosenberg reappointed to state public advocacy commission
- By Mary Meadows Staff Writer
- May 27, 2020
Gov. Andy Beshear recently reappointed Prestonsburg attorney John Rosenberg to the Kentucky Public Advocacy Commission.
He is the longest-serving member of the group, having served since 1994. He served as vice chair from 2001 to 2019.
“I was really pleased,” he said about the reappointment. “I do think we have a great statewide system here that I think we can be proud of. I’ve really appreciated being on the commission over the years.”
The commission oversees the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, which provides free legal services to low-income residents who are charged with crimes and other types of services to residents.
Statewide, the DPA operates 33 trial offices that represent indigent clients in criminal cases, civil contempt cases and involuntary commitment cases. The agency also has a post-trial division that helps defendants appeal criminal convictions and a law operations divisions that provides resources that assist each of those divisions. Its alternative sentencing staff work to obtain alternative sentencing, like substance abuse treatment, in lieu of incarceration for some clients, while its Protection & Advocacy division works to help people with disabilities.
The agency helps thousands of clients annually. Statewide, the Kentucky Department for Public Advocacy was assigned nearly169,000 cases in the state in 2019, and caseloads were 515 in Prestonsburg, 440 in Pikeville and 549 in Hazard.