Joshua Rustad and Mark Douglas have been named to staff one of the first State Public Defender offices in Williston.

The office is being opened by the North Dakota Legal Counsel for Indigents.

The office will handle criminal and juvenile cases in which the defendant or child is determined to be “indigent” or financially unable to afford an attorney.

In North Dakota, there are approximately 9,000 to 10,000 cases each year in which an appointed attorney is needed, according to Robin Huseby of the commission.

Rustad is a native of Williston. He graduated from the University of North Dakota Law School in Grand Forks in 1998. He has been practicing law with Neff, Eiken, Neff and Rustad, taking on both civil and criminal matters. Douglas is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law School. He has experience as a child support attorney with the state, and was the attorney for the State Protection and Advocacy Project.

Stephanie Vaghts will serve as administrative staff person. She is a native of Tioga, and has prior law office experience, having worked in the Federal Public Defender's office in Florida prior to coming back to North Dakota.

According to Huseby, in 2005 the North Dakota Legislature passed a bill establishing the Commission on Legal Counsel, and it transferred the responsibility of providing indigent services from the Supreme Court and Judiciary to the Commission.

He added that although the local office will be responsible primarily for indigent defense, local attorneys will be asked to take both juvenile and criminal cases that create a conflict with public defenders.

The Williston office will be located on Broadway, two blocks from the Williams County Courthouse.