Today's Front Page |
eJCPress |
Mobile |
Facebook |
Twitter |
Coupons |
Kelly sworn into office as new public defender
By Becky CampbellPress Staff Writer
bcampbell@johnsoncitypress.comJeff Kelly was sworn into office as the 1st Judicial District public defender Tuesday in a low-key proceeding and can assume his official duties.
Printer-friendly version
Email ArticleKelly was appointed last week to replace Bob Oaks, who died in June. The two men were longtime friends, and Oaks narrowly defeated Kelly in the 2006 election.
Criminal Court Judge Robert Cupp administered the oath during an afternoon court recess. Kelly said he asked Cupp to swear him in and felt honored the judge accepted his request.
“There couldn’t have been a better appointment,” Cupp said.
Kelly said there will be a bigger public event later that will include much more fanfare, with Gov. Phil Bredesen also administering an oath of office to him.
“The governor’s going to come to this district and perform a swearing-in ceremony for me ... But we needed to have this swearing in because there’s responsibilities in the public defender’s office that need to be attended to,” he said.
The office has operated since Oaks’ death in June without someone at the helm, and Kelly said the process has been smooth.
“The office will continue to run smoothly as it has for the past several months,” he said.
Administrative procedures require the office to wait two to three months before someone can fill Kelly’s position as an assistant public defender, he said.
After the brief swearing in, Kelly expressed appreciation for all his supporters.
“It’s both an honor and a privilege to be the pubic defender of the 1st Judicial District. A lot of people wrote letters of recommendation and made calls, and those efforts are really appreciated,” he said.
As for taking the position his longtime friend held, Kelly said he will stay true to Oaks’ dedication to the office.
“I want to acknowledge Mr. Oaks. He was committed to the public defender’s office, he was committed that the law be applied equally and be applied fairly to all people regardless of their social or economic status,” he said.
“We’re going to continue that commitment in the public defender’s office.”