CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The chief defense counsel for the U.S. Marine Corps has been chosen to be the new head of the federal public defender's office for the Northern District of Ohio.

Col. Stephen C. Newman was appointed for a four-year term to head the office, which provides attorneys to criminal defendants who cannot afford one.

The judges of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati selected him from other attorneys who applied from both inside and outside of the office.

Newman, 51, will replace Dennis Terez, who has headed the federal public defender's office since 2007. Terez will step down as head of the office in April.

"It takes two parties to get the truth," Newman said. "Without a strong and vigorous defense, our system completely collapses. It's something that I love to do."

Newman will be paid $158,700, the same amount as the U.S. attorney. Newman said he does not yet have a firm start date, but he hopes to be sworn in by mid-May.

Newman has been in the Marines for nearly 25 years. He has been chief defense counsel for the Marines since 2014. His office provides representation to Marines charged with committing criminal military infractions.

An Indiana native, Newman went to law school at Capital University in Columbus and graduated in 1991. He said he is excited to move to Cleveland because his wife has family in northern Ohio.

The federal defender's office is based in Cleveland and has offices in Akron, Youngstown and Toledo.