Moving up

County names public defender, legal defender, department head 

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted Aug. 17 to appoint Steve Sonenberg as the Pima County public defender, succeeding Lori J. Lefferts, who recently was named to the newly created position of director of the county’s Public Defense Services Department.

In addition, Dean Brault was appointed by Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry as the Pima County legal defender.

Lefferts joined the Pima County Public Defender’s Office in 1987, moving up to the position of Pima County public defender in 2012. Lefferts is a frequent speaker on the Fourth Amendment; and was the 2008 recipient of the Tom Karas Indigent Defense Award presented by the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice. Her undergraduate degree in public administration and her law degree are both from the University of Arizona.

Sonenberg, a 20-year veteran of the public defender’s office, practiced criminal defense law in Detroit for about 16 years before joining the public defender’s office. He has been the chief assistant public defender for three years.

Brault, an 18-year veteran of the public defender’s office, replaces retired Legal Defender Isabel Garcia. For the last three years, Brault supervised 15 attorneys, four secretaries and four legal assistants while a trial team supervisor. He was named Attorney of the Year by the Arizona Public Defender Association in 2003.

Their county salaries are $184,496 for Lefferts; $145,017 for Sonenberg and $120,016 for Brault.