Joseph P. George Jr., the embattled head of a Miami-Dade state law office created to defend the poor, is out of a job — and three finalists are competing to replace him.

One of the finalists is defense lawyer Eugene Zenobi, who George fired this month from the Miami-Dade’s Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel. The other finalists: Kevin J. Hellmann, of Miami-Dade’s Public Defender’s Office, and Shari Vrod, of the Regional Counsel office in West Palm Beach.

The 50-lawyer criminal conflict office was created in 2007 with state funds to defend clients who cannot afford an attorney. Regional lawyers handle cases when the Public Defender’s Office has a conflict of interest with a client.

On Saturday, a selection committee of lawyers and prominent citizens forwarded their names to Gov. Rick Scott for a final appointment after interviewing more than a dozen candidates. The finalists were in Tallahassee Monday to interview with the governor, who could make a decision by the day’s end.

George plunged the office into turmoil this month when he fired Zenobi, Kellie Peterson and Rene Palomino, all highly regarded attorneys.

Peterson and Zenobi were slated next month to start a death penalty trial for a man accused of murdering a Miami police officer.

George did not appear in person during Saturday’s interviews. He spoke via speakerphone from Europe, where he said he was on pre-planned vacation.

George insisted Saturday that the office was not in turmoil, and that the three had to be fired for drinking on the job.

“Because Mr. Zenobi applied for the job ... the discharge has been incorrectly portrayed as retaliatory,” he claimed.

In his interview Saturday, Zenobi discussed how he felt he could re-shape the office.

And he joked that he was offended over claims that the trio had been drinking a cheap Merlot. In reality, he said to a round of chuckles, it was a $79 bottle of Stags Leap Cabernet.

He also had some stern words about the climate in the office.

“The office was run like a police state,’’ he said. “No one was told anything. There was an undercurrent of fear.”

As the interview concluded, committee member Bob Butterworth, former Florida Attorney General, praised Zenobi.

“If governor selects you, I believe you can change the agency,” Butterworth said. “You are able to attract people of the very highest quality who would like to get back into public service.”