Who defends the defenders?

Public Defender John Adams says he has been handed his walking papers from Kootenai County's Board of Commissioners. There ought to be a law against that, many in our community argue.

Kootenai County Commissioners Dan Green, Todd Tondee and Jai Nelson should take a deep breath and find a way to work out whatever difficulties exist and retain Adams, rather than push him out by Sept. 30. Why? Because Adams is among the very best at what he does, with an outstanding track record spanning almost two decades working for the county. His dedication is partly reflected by the fact that he could make far more money in private practice. This isn't exactly a glamour job, either. When it's your solemn duty to ensure the rights of people like Joseph Duncan are protected, folks aren't patting you on the back as you walk down the street or lining up at the bar to buy you a beer.

How did this mess happen? We likely will never know the whole story because, while Adams and many others can share their perspectives, his three bosses can't. It's a personnel matter which precludes county officials from speaking specifically about an employee who is being disciplined or dismissed.

But we do know that Adams and Commissioner Jai Nelson have been at odds for some time, even preceding a shaky evaluation of Adams' job performance last September after strong evaluations every year prior to Nelson joining the board in 2011. Just a few weeks ago, Adams filed a formal complaint against Nelson. That alone makes the timing of this tempest suspicious.

Neither Adams nor Nelson has a lot of back-down in their makeup, so a degeneration of the relationship to this low point was perhaps inevitable. That doesn't mean it's prudent.

John Adams is, according to his peers, as good at his job as Kootenai County could ever hope to realize. What stood out in the aftermath of The Press stories about Adams' looming termination was the quantity and quality of outrage expressed not just by his friends, but by his legal opponents. Is there a greater compliment than being sincerely lauded by your adversaries? We don't think so.

And we don't think the citizens of Kootenai County will best be served by forcing John Adams out of his role as public defender. The court of public opinion on this matter is clear: All parties should find a way to work together. Jai and John don't need to like each other, but pushing him out of the public defender's office would be criminal.