Madison County public defender fires assistant
Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski said Wednesday he fired an assistant public defender because she is not an attorney.
Kelcie Miller, of Edwardsville, was hired in October and had worked for the public defender’s office until last week, Rekowski said.
Miller could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
“We messed up,” Rekowski said before an afternoon news conference.
Rekowski said during the news conference he found out that Miller was not an attorney after a judge had checked the state’s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission database of registered lawyers because a court reporter had asked the judge how to spell Miller’s first name. She was not listed.
“I had no reports from any prosecutors, I had no reports from my staff, and I observed nothing personally that would ever make me question her abilities,” Rekowski said.
The state’s attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office are investigating, and Miller could face criminal charges, Rekowski said.
Miller took the bar exam twice and failed both times, according to Rekowski. He said she had lied to him about being a registered lawyer.
Miller gave advice and made “critical decisions” on about 80 cases, Rekowski said. The open cases have been reassigned. Everyone with a closed case handled by Miller will be contacted so the public defender’s office can go over their options with them, according to Rekowski.
None of these cases went to trial. Rekowski said Miller, who earned about $57,000 annually, did not work on any violent felony cases.
Rekowski said he had never asked to see proof from lawyers to show that they passed the bar exam. He said he recently verified that his other assistants have passed the bar exam, and he will require proof from future candidates.
“I have hired I don’t know how many people over my 35 years. I have never asked to see a law license,” he said. “I’ve never been lied to about it. ... I just had no reason to ever think that anybody would do this. The big lie sometimes is better than the small one.”
Miller had been scheduled to assist Rekowski in the defense of Zachary I. Capers, who is charged in the killing an Edwardsville couple, but he said Miller’s firing will not affect Capers’ case going forward. Capers is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of Lois and Michael Ladd.
State law says that anyone practicing as lawyer without being licensed can be found guilty of contempt of court and ordered to pay a civil penalty of up to $5,000 to the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation and actual damages.
This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 2:26 PM.
