Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem wished seven attorneys good luck on Thursday - but "not too much,"he joked - because the seven will be pitted against prosecutors in western North Dakota.

The attorneys were hired this month by the state for the sole purpose of defending the accused who can't afford legal counsel.

The attorneys work for a state agency created by the Legislature in 2005 that was set up to ensure the poor have access to attorneys.

Robin Huseby, executive director of the Commission on Legal Council for Indigents, introduced the attorneys to Stenehjem and the commission on Thursday in the Capitol.

Huseby said the seven attorneys will serve in Minot, Williston and Dickinson, while the rest of the state will still rely on a system of using private practice attorneys on a contract basis for indigent defense.

Before 2005, the Supreme Court handled contracts with attorneys to provide indigent defense.

Sen. Tom Trenbeath, R-Cavalier, a member of the commission, said the previous system was "grossly underfunded"and the Supreme Court was concerned there could be a conflict of interest if it continued to provide the service.

Trenbeath said Montana was sued over their program, which prompted North Dakota legislators to make the change last year.

"Once we saw it getting that close, we thought we should do something,"Trenbeath said.

Huseby said there are about 10,000 indigent assignments for public defenders each year in North Dakota.

The seven attorneys work full time and earn between $47,000 to $60,000, depending on their experience.

Huseby said the goal was to make the salaries competitive because the cases they take can be very serious.

"You might wake up Monday morning with a murder case on your plate," Huseby said.

Stenehjem said he's glad the change was made because the legal system needs to be fair to everyone.

"It was never an optimal system anyway and what has been crafted now is the right way to go,"Stenehjem said.

Eric Baumann, a public defender in Minot, said he is looking forward to his new job.

"It's going to be a challenge, but Iam jumping into it with both feet," Baumann said.

Baumann, Tom Gunderson and Robert Martin are the public defenders in Minot, Kevin McCabe and Jay Greenwood will work in Dickinson, and Josh Rustad and Mark Douglas will work in Williston.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@;bismarcktribune.com.)