PUBLIC DEFENDER Definition & Meaning

public defender

noun

a lawyer appointed or elected by a city or county as a full-time, official defender to represent indigents in criminal cases at public expense.

public defender

noun

(in the US) a lawyer engaged at public expense to represent indigent defendants

public defender

An attorney who is appointed and paid by a court to defend poor persons who cannot afford a lawyer.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of public defender¹

First recorded in 1915–20

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The longtime Orange County public defender changed local history in 2013 when he presented a judge with evidence that sheriff’s deputies had illegally used jailhouse snitches for decades.

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Brooke Longuevan, president of the public defenders union, called the situation “deeply concerning.”

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She appeared via video from a San Diego hospital; her public defender requested a bail review hearing for April 28.

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Barnes and Robertson’s public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Elliott’s federal public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

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