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Office History
In 1963, the Florida Legislature responded to the landmark United States
Supreme Court decision in
Gideon v. Wainwriqht,
granting defendants the right to counsel in felony cases, by creating the Office
of the Public Defender. In
Gideon, the Supreme Court held that the right of an indigent defendant in a
criminal trial to have the assistance of counsel is a fundamental right
essential to a fair trial, and that Gideon's trial and conviction without the
assistance of counsel violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, emerged the first
statewide public defender system in the nation.
Our country’s highest court has also upheld, as a fundamental right essential to
a fair trial an indigent person receiving the assistance of counsel in juvenile
delinquency proceedings,
In re: Gault, and in misdemeanor cases,
Argersinger v. Hamlin.
James C. Henderson was the first Public Defender for Miami-Dade County, followed
by Robert L. Koeppel, Hughlan Long and Phillip A. Hubbart. In 1976, Bennett H.
Brummer was elected as Miami-Dade Public Defender and served 32 years as Public
Defender.
On January 6, 2009, Carlos J. Martinez, became Miami-Dade County’s Public
Defender. From humble beginnings Carlos’ personifies the classic migrant story.
His route to the top is a tale of hard work and dedication that ends, or perhaps
begins, with his unopposed election as the top defender.
From a staff of 16 attorneys in 1971, the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office
has expanded into the largest criminal defense law firm in the State of Florida.
We take pride in our record of trial and appellate work, as well as the number
of our alumni who are judges and
respected members of the private defense bar.
To learn more about the earlier history of the right to counsel on the web page
of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association,
click here.
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