County Appoints Lettis, Our First Otsego Female Public Defender

OTSEGO COUNTY—The Otsego County Board of Representatives recently appointed local attorney Susan Lettis to the position of public defender. Lettis was appointed by the board last November to complete the term of her predecessor, Aaron Dean, and has been reappointed on her own merits.

“We hired Susan in the fall,” said Margaret Kennedy, Otsego County Board vice-chair. “We had a number of qualified candidates and several rounds of interviews. She emerged as the top candidate.
“Susan has done a great job leading the department. There are a lot of responsibilities,” added Kennedy, who represents Otsego County District No. 5 (Hartwick, Milford, New Lisbon).

“I have known Susan for 12 years now, since I first began with the county,” added Board Chair Edwin Frazier (District No. 1, Unadilla). “She was an assistant county attorney at the time of our first meeting. I worked with her on some constituent issues initially. My first impression of her was of how great a listener she was. She truly cared about ‘righting a wrong.’ Her capability to listen helps her build trust with those that she represents every day in the Public Defender’s office. Building trust and rapport with a client is crucial in the lawyer-client relationship.

“As far as the management side of her job as PD, she has gotten the office up to full staff again and continually looks for avenues to fund her office,” Frazier said.

When asked about her appointment, Lettis explained that she accepted the position as a form of public service, to improve the quality of justice in local courts and to ensure that the provision of legal counsel to the indigent does not create an enormous economic hardship to taxpayers. Lettis is the first female public defender in Otsego County.

“As a father of four daughters, I am always excited to see ‘glass ceilings’ being broken,” Frazier said. “I did not realize that Susan would be the first female PD, gender never really entered into the discussion. Susan’s passion and experience more than qualify her for the job. I have no doubt that she will be a fantastic public defender.”

The Public Defender’s Office of Otsego County is assigned to represent litigants in hundreds of cases every year in Family Court, County Court, and local town and village courts. The office also provides representation through post-conviction and parole revocation proceedings.

Public service is not new to Lettis. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer prior to law school, worked in legal clinics through law school, served on the Redistricting Commission in Oneonta and now volunteers as a member of the Planning Commission in the City of Oneonta.

Lettice said, “This position is not about me or my accomplishments, but rather about serving the public and helping the neediest in our community with their legal problems.”

Lettis began her legal career representing indigent litigants as a member of the assigned counsel panel. She also worked for many years for the county, protecting vulnerable children and adults in various proceedings. She transitioned to employment with the state, where she represented individuals living with mental health diagnosis and developmental disabilities.

“I took the position, in part, because I believe we can do better as a society than addressing mental health and substance use disorders by incarcerating those who suffer from these disorders. I am humbled and honored by the trust the county government has put in me by selecting me for this position,” Lettis said.

In keeping with her ideals, Lettis was also recently appointed to the Board of Directors of LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions.