public defender
nounDefinition of public defender
: a lawyer usually holding public office whose duty is to defend accused persons unable to pay for legal assistance
Examples of public defender in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As part of a joint effort between county judges, prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office and the executive’s office, 30 inmates held on low-level, non-violent felonies have been released from the jail this week. — Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com, "Cuyahoga County to ship inmates to other counties’ jails to reduce crowded jail," 30 Aug. 2019 Dierdorf had worked for the public defender’s office since February 2016. — Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, "Public defender in Denver, whose law license was suspended in Missouri, resigns from job here," 19 Aug. 2019 Her attorney through the public defender’s office could not be reached for comment. — Gabrielle Russon, orlandosentinel.com, "Ex-Disney Typhoon Lagoon worker returns to park to steal wallets from employees, sheriff’s report says," 13 Aug. 2019 The bulk of her debt was for the public defender that represented her. — Tyler Kendall, CBS News, "Former inmate sues Florida over bill narrowing voting rights amendment," 30 June 2019 More than 90 percent of people in San Francisco jails are defined as low-income and qualify for a public defender, officials said. — Evan Sernoffsky, San Francisco Chronicle, "S.F. ordinance targets fees faced by poor defendants," 5 Feb. 2018 Michtom, who lives in Parkville, is an assistant public defender for the state and co-founder of the Hartford Deportation Defense Group. — Rebecca Lurye, courant.com, "Working Families Party endorses Hartford city council candidates; Current member stepping down," 16 Aug. 2019 Tiana Hercules is a public defender for the state, and former staff attorney at Greater Hartford Legal Aid, who serves on the board for NINA, an Asylum Hill revitalization group. — Rebecca Lurye, Courant Community, "Hartford Democratic primary to pit Mayor Luke Bronin against challengers Eddie Perez and Brandon McGee, Jr.," 16 Aug. 2019 One trustee, Herman Santos, a county public defender who serves on both boards, attended nearly 50 functions at a cost of $219,000. — Matt Stiles, Los Angeles Times, "Times Investigation: $22,000 for a trip to Australia? Pension trustees draw scrutiny over travel costs," 29 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'public defender.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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