Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Michael McGinn to the State Board of Public Defense.

McGinn, of Eagan, is the founder and president of McGinn and Associates. He is a retired commander with the St. Paul Police Department and served 30 years as a St. Paul police officer. He also served one four-year term in the Minnesota Senate where he was a member of the Senate Public Safety Finance, and Crime Prevention Committees. McGinn replaces R. Peter Madel, Jr. as a public member for a four-year term that expires on January 3, 2011.

The State Board of Public Defense approves and recommends a budget to the Legislature, and establishes procedures for distribution of state funding for the board, the Office of the State Public Defender, the judicial district public defenders and the public defense corporations. The board also appoints the state public defender and the chief public defenders of the state’s ten judicial districts. The board consists of seven members, including four attorneys appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court and three public members appointed by the Governor.