Public Defense

Public Defense in Child Protection Law

So I thought a good way to start off this blog is to explain what I do. I doubt many people will be interested in this, or for that matter, anything that I will post on this blog. However, with millions of people on the internet, it seems that you could find at least one person who is interested in any given topic. That being said...

I work in the Child Protection Division of my office. We represent parents in abuse or neglect proceedings. These proceedings are civil, not criminal. The goal of these proceedings is not to assign responsibility for a criminal act, but rather to ensure the welfare of the abused or neglected child. The court we practice in decides things such as whether the child was abused or neglected, whether biological parents will retain custody, whether the parents are ready to regain custody, and sometimes, whether the parents should have all of their legal rights as parents permanently terminated.

Most public defenders came to the office hoping to practice criminal law, rather than civil. Since our cases are civil, our clients have fewer rights and protections than they would if they were accused of a criminal act. So defenders who measure success in black-and-white terms such as winning motions and trials are often disappointed here. Because many defenders would prefer to be in other divisions, a lot of new attorneys get assigned here. I have been here since I started working as a defender in July 2004.

Each public defender is assigned to a specific courtroom where all of his cases are heard. Each courtroom has 3-4 total defenders who are each other's trial partners. Our offices are next to each other and we assist each other when needed.

Anyway, that's what I do. Not remarkable, but perhaps it will provide some context for future posts.

posted by Public Defense @ 12/01/2005