Hugo Selenski will be familiar with two attorneys chosen to defend him in his latest homicide case.

Attorneys John Pike and Steve Menn were appointed Friday to defend Selenski on his charges in the deaths of pharmacist Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend, Tammy Fassett.

They helped him in his first case - so attorney Pike realized he and Menn were an appropriate fit to defend Selenski in the second case.

“It’s just logical that one or both of us were going to be appointed,” said Pike, a 10-year member of the conflict attorney group.

The two attorneys, part of a group of public attorneys called conflict counsel, assisted lead attorney Demetrius Fannick in March in clearing Selenski of killing two drug dealer suspects.

Pike said the matter was discussed Friday with Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. The judge later issued an order appointing the duo to defend Selenski.

A third defense attorney will be appointed to the team later, Pike said. Pike is unsure who that attorney will be. He said he will check first if any other conflict attorneys want to volunteer.

How the system works:

Conflict attorneys are not automatically appointed to cases, Pike said.

If a defendant needs to be represented by a public defender, the defendant first has to apply for representation through that office, Pike said.

The public defender will determine if any conflict of interest exists in representing the defendant.

A conflict, Pike said, could arise when two or more people are arrested in the same case. If one of those defendants is represented by a public defender, the others cannot be. Or, he said, if witnesses in the case are represented by public defenders, the defendant also cannot be represented by public defenders.

If the public defenders determine a conflict exists, they petition a judge to have a conflict attorney appointed. Each conflict attorney is paid around $25,000 per year.

Pike said the conflict attorneys are appointed on a rotating list.

But not any attorney can be appointed to a death-penalty case, Pike said.

The attorney must have 18 credits from legal classes and seminars and have completed at least eight significant felony trials.

“Then you could be lead counsel,” Pike said.

Without those qualifications, an attorney could assist on the defense team, Pike said.

Currently, Pike and Menn meet those standards. Other conflict attorneys are in the process of being qualified, he said.

Here is a list of the attorneys who make up Luzerne County’s conflict counsel group:

• John Pike

• Steve Menn

• Paul Galante

• Sam Falcone

• Joe Cosgrove

• Mike Senape

• Bob Davison

• Joe Nocito

• Gerald Wassil

• Mark Bufalino

• Matt Kelly

• Brian Corcoran