In the United States, a public defender is an attorney appointed by the courts and provided by state or federal governments to represent and advise those who cannot afford to hire private counsel. Public defenders are full-time attorneys employed by state or federal governments. The public defense program is one of several types of criminal legal assistance in the United States. These human resources can help defenders provide a more professional service than that of a designated attorney without these types of personnel or funds to hire them. The United States Judicial Conference enacts policies and guidelines for the administration of the CJA, makes legislative recommendations to Congress, and approves funding requests and spending plans for the defense program as a whole and, through its Standing Committee on Defense Services, budgets and grants for each defense organization.
Public defense agencies of all types are supported by public funds, but they have an ethical obligation to be independent and do not follow instructions from the government regarding the acceptance or management of cases, or the hiring of staff lawyers. The statutes must be included in the district plan that authorizes a community advocacy organization. Because conflict of interest issues can exist when multiple defendants participated in a single crime, only one person from a group of co-defendants will be assigned an attorney from a public defense office. The procedures for appointment, reappointment, and other administrative matters vary from circuit to circuit, but the Federal Public Defender is appointed for a four-year term.
The Office of the Federal Public Defender operates under the authority of the Criminal Justice Act of 1964 (CJA), 18 U.C). In connection with the hiring of candidates for vacant federal public defender positions, a national effort should be undertaken to report vacancies for federal public defenders, in accordance with equal employment opportunity standards. Acting under the supervision and direction of the Judicial Conference, the Administrative Office of the Courts of the United States oversees the expenditure of funds allocated by Congress; administers the federal program of panel advocates and attorneys at the national level; is responsible for training related to representation within the framework of the CJA; and provides legal, political, administrative and fiscal advice to the Conference and its committees, to the judges, advocates and their staff, and to the panel's attorneys. However, before the enactment of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), there was no authority to compensate appointed attorneys for their litigation services or expenses, and federal judges relied on the professional obligation of attorneys to provide free public representation to defendants who could not hire an attorney. After reviewing the trial court file, the appellate public defender may conclude that there are no reasonable or valid reasons to file an appeal.
Some jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles County, employ an independent entity for legal representation called the Office of the Alternate Public Defender. It should be noted that the historic Gideon case only grants a defendant of an indigent crime the right to be represented at trial and in the first appeal. The public defense system is not the only form of indigent defense program offered in the United States. Learn about job opportunities in federal public defense organizations, community advocacy organizations and other select positions related to the Criminal Justice Act.
