Roustio named public defender for St. Clair County
Belleville attorney Rick Roustio will take over as St. Clair County’s public defender.
Roustio, partner in Daley, Sheafor & Roustio, will take over later this month. He will also continue in private practice.
St. Clair County Chief Judge John Baricevic said there were 11 candidates, and it wasn’t an easy choice.
“Rick has a lot of experience. He has done a lot of trials. He’s familiar with the public defender’s office,” Baricevic said. “I think that he’s going to do a great job.”
Roustio graduated from Assumption High School, then attended the U.S. Naval Academy before graduating from Saint Louis University Law School. Roustio has tried more than 50 murder cases, some of them death-penalty cases.
Roustio said he looks forward to heading the public defender’s office.
“There’s a great bunch of people who work in there,” Roustio said. “There are people who have a lot of experience, and there’s young people in there who are gung-ho and ready to go.”
There’s a great bunch of people who work in there. There are people who have a lot of experience, and there’s young people in there who are gung-ho and ready to go.
Rick Roustio
on joining the public defender’s officeRoustio will take over for Belleville attorney John O’Gara, who was appointed as an associate judge last month.
The St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office has two administrative staff, one full-time and one part-time investigator, seven full-time attorneys and 14 part-time attorneys.
In Illinois, a public defender provides legal representation to defendants who cannot afford representation in criminal cases and a few other types of cases.
Roustio is married and has two grown sons.
This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 5:18 AM with the headline "Roustio named public defender for St. Clair County."