The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides legal defense to individuals on a court-appointed basis for criminal (at the trial and appellate levels) and delinquency cases indigent adult and juvenile defendants/ respondents.
[2] In 1963, the United States Supreme Court's decision in Gideon v. Wainwright recognized the constitutional right to counsel in criminal cases for people unable to afford their own attorneys in felony matters.
Shortly thereafter, LAA leadership crafted the 1970 statute that established the current District of Columbia Public Defender Service (PDS), broadened the mandate to include the Appointment of Counsel Program (now the Defender Services Office) and the Offender Rehabilitation Division (now the Office of Rehabilitation and Development), and secured the apolitical role of the PDS Board of Trustees.
[2] Attorneys in the Trial Division represent adults in criminal proceedings in the District of Columbia Superior Court and children in juvenile delinquency matters.
Some attorneys in the Trial Division handle cases involving DNA evidence, expert testimony, multiple-count indictments, and novel or complex legal matters.
In addition, this division provides legal assistance to DC inmates housed throughout the country in Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities who write letters requesting counseling regarding parole eligibility matters and other related issues.
[7] As part of PDS’s holistic approach to public defense, the Community Defender Division (CDD) provides services to adults and children, primarily those who are in the post-adjudication stage of a criminal or juvenile delinquency case in Superior Court.
In addition, CLS addresses other rehabilitative needs of these children and of adult clients by providing representation in civil matters arising out of their criminal charges — public benefits entitlement, housing, child support, and health care services.
Staff investigators provide support to the Trial, Appellate, Parole, Mental Health, Civil Legal Services, Community Defender and Office of Rehabilitation and Development divisions.