Two additional attorneys have joined the staff as assistant public defenders in the Southeast Missouri district of the state's public defender system.

Bryan Greaser and Gregory Spencer have joined the public defender's office as staff attorneys, announced Kenton Hall, district defender and managing attorney of the district office.

With the addition of two new attorneys, there are now nine public defenders in the district.

Both Greaser and Spencer learned last week that they passed the Missouri Bar exam. They will be sworn in Friday as members of the bar.

Greaser, a Cape Girardeau native, graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1989. He then attended Southeast Missouri State University where he majored in journalism with a minor in philosophy. He also pitched for the university's baseball team.

He attended law school at Oklahoma City University, graduating in May. During law school, he was the editor of "The Verdict," a monthly newsletter for students and faculty of the law school.

He also served two summers as a clerk for Judge Reta Strubhar of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

Spencer, a native of St. Charles County, attended college at the University of Missouri St. Louis where he majored in criminology and criminal justice.

He attended law school at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

During the summers, he worked as an intern in the prosecutor's office in St. Charles County.

Spencer will work primarily in the public defender's office in Scott County. Greaser will work primarily in Cape Girardeau County.

The public defender's office provides legal representation for people who are charged with a violation of state criminal statutes but who cannot afford an attorney. Each year, the district public defender's office handles more than 2,000 cases.

The district serves Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.