Public defenders have new manager

Chief Public Defender Dan Lew announced a new position in the Sixth Judicial District that will manage both the Iron Range and Carlton County public defender teams late last month.

Mark Muhich will be managing attorney for the two offices in Virginia and Carlton.

Lew said Muhich brings "nearly two decades of commitment to client centered representation [and] an energy to holistic public defense."

Muhich has worked for the office as a part-time public defender for 18 years, in addition to having his own general practice in Virginia until he became a full-time public defender in 2019, handling all types of cases in the Virginia courthouse.

Besides practicing law, the Hibbing native has been an adjunct college instructor teaching political science, criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, and business law for 16 years at Mesabi Range College in Virginia. He also taught in the law enforcement program at Vermilion Community College in Ely for six years.

"I have done many things over the course of my long career, and look forward to this new opportunity to lead the great group of attorneys we have on the Iron Range and Carlton," Muhich said in a press release.

Muhich will have his office in Hibbing in the Howard Court building.

"I look forward to working collaboratively and collegially with everyone," Muhich said.