Commission approves Mitchell Williams as new Franklin County Public Defender

The largest group of defense attorneys in central Ohio will have a new leader after the Franklin County Public Defender Commission voted Thursday.

The five-member commission approved Mitchell Williams to become the new county public defender at a quarterly meeting held Thursday, four sources have confirmed to The Dispatch.

Williams, 54, takes over for Yeura Venters, who headed the Franklin County Public Defender's office for 22 years. Venters announced at the beginning of the year his plans to retire.

Williams will serve a four-year term and will make at least $165,000, according to the job posting. More specific details about Williams' compensation were not immediately available.

Who is Mitchell Williams, Franklin County's new public defender?

Williams has worked in the public defender's office for 29 years and currently works in the common pleas unit defending people accused of felonies.

In 2017, Williams was one of two attorneys who represented Lincoln Rutledge in a death penalty trial. Rutledge fatally shot Columbus police officer Steven Smith, who was in the turret of an armored SWAT vehicle during an April 2016 standoff.

Rutledge was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional 66 years.

The Franklin County Public Defenders office has a 2024 approved budget of more than $17 million and employs 120 full-time staff including more than 90 attorneys who handle criminal cases in municipal, juvenile, common pleas and appeals courts.

In 2023, lawyers within the office announced their intent to unionize, seeking better working conditions to help reduce turnover.

Franklin County uses public defenders for a majority of criminal cases where defendants are indigent, meaning they do not earn enough income — based on a threshold set by the state — to afford their own attorney. In criminal cases, the county also utilizes appointed counsel, private attorneys who agree to take on indigent clients at a reimbursement rate set by the county.