The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors rejected a recommendation that an oversight committee be formed to monitor the county’s Private Defender Program.

The bar association contracts with the county for $19 million a year to provide criminal defense for defendants who cannot afford their own attorneys.

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Supervisors heard testimony in support of the PDP from Stanford Law School professors Ronald Tyler and Suzanne Luban. Others submitted letters of support for the PDP including former judge Quentin Kopp and the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, according to Eric Liberman, managing attorney with the private defender program.