Going public: J school grad is a Boone County defender
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Empty coffee cups crowd Boone County Public Defender Tom Porto’s desk in his office on April 16. Porto is a graduate of the MU School of Journalism and the UM-Kansas City School of Law.
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A Bruce Springsteen poster hangs next to Boone County Public Defender Tom Porto’s Missouri Bar certification inside his office at the Johnson Building in downtown Columbia. Porto is attending to more than 60 open cases.
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A sign on a door at the Johnson Building designates the location of public defenders’ offices. Boone County Public Defender Tom Porto has practiced law for two months and works with other public defenders at the Johnson Building.
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Some of Tom Porto's personal law books line the shelves inside his office. Porto decided to go to law school and become a public defender after he was unable to find a job as a journalist.
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When he’s not inside the courtroom, Boone County Public Defender Tom Porto spends his time at his office in the Johnson Building. The building is located on East Walnut Street in downtown Columbia, just west of the Boone County Courthouse.
