by Jason Smartt, Reno County Lead Assistant Public Defender

After receiving her successful bar results, Erin Nisly was recently sworn in as a new attorney by Reno County District Court Judge Trish Rose.

by Emily Brandt, Assistant Appellate Defender

On October 1, 2019, Heather Cessna stepped into her first day as Executive Director of BIDS. As she prepares to begin her fourth year, I took the opportunity to sit down and discuss her journey to the law, her career, and her time as Executive Director. 

by Danielle Hamilton Slate, Senior Assistant Capital Defender

On October 28th, BIDS wrapped up its first New Attorney Training, graduating 13 attorneys! For eight weeks, these attorneys from across northeast Kansas made the trek to Topeka each Friday afternoon to learn about and practice a wide variety of skills.

by Meryl Carver-Allmond, BIDS Training Director

As you may have heard, BIDS is in the process of opening several new public defender offices across the state. Here are a few commonly asked questions about the stages of that process, as well as an update on what stage each of our future new offices is currently at.

by Heather Cessna, BIDS Executive Director

While fall may bring to mind thoughts of back-to-school activities, cooler weather, and pumpkin-spice everything, in the BIDS Administrative office fall means one thing: Budget time!

Every year, our budget for the next fiscal year is due to the Division of Budget by September 15th and this year, of course, was no exception. Here is an update on what we, as an agency, are asking for as part of our FY 2024 budget, which will start on July 1, 2023.