Who is a Public Defender?

A public defender is a lawyer who usually works full time representing criminal defendants, or mental health clients that are not criminals but that are involuntarily held who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Sometimes public defenders are called criminal defence attorneys. In a time before there were public defenders, young, inexperienced attorneys were often ordered by courts to defend indigents pro bono, and in that capacity. The first person, who propose the creation of a public defender’s office was California’s first female attorney, Clara Shortridge Foltz . There are also a large number of not-for-profit agencies: Defender Service, Defender Office or a Legal Aid Society that are paid to provide legal services. Some public defender offices also have community-based services to help prevent criminal activity. State public defender systems can vary widely from state to state, county to county, and from federal defender organizations. Public defenders are usually paid by the ...  more