By LOHR McKINSTRY
ELIZABETHTOWN — Former Rensselaer County Assistant District Attorney Robert D. Seymour will become Essex County's new deputy public defender.
The position has been vacant since Brandon Boutelle was promoted to chief public defender following the death of Livingston Hatch in January.
Boutelle said he did several interviews before settling on Seymour for the post.
"We received over a dozen resumes. There was very good diversity, a good range of experience," Boutelle said. "I narrowed it to two attorneys."
Seymour was recently an assistant DA for Rensselaer County and has practiced criminal law for two years, Boutelle said.
"He is very interested in coming up — and I don't know if you would call it turning to the dark side — but coming over to the defense and representing the Constitution from the other side of the game," Boutelle said.
He said Seymour is originally from Malone and has thorough knowledge of the area.
"He has North Country roots. He has moved to Lake Placid. He is now a resident of Essex County."
Seymour will start March 22 at a salary of $58,000 a year.
The Public Defender's Office is now in cramped quarters in the county complex. Supervisor Randy Preston (I-Wilmington), who chairs the County Public Safety Committee, said they're going to be looking for better space.
He joked at a recent committee meeting that Seymour may have to put up with a small office for a while.
"You did show him your office, didn't you?" Preston asked Boutelle. "That would scare him off."
Boutelle said Seymour toured the Public Defender's Office and met the staff.
Preston said they planned to take a field trip early this week to look at other places for the public defender, including the old State Police station in Westport.
E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
