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Recruiting Attorneys
The Public Defender’s Office enjoys a national reputation for excellence,
therefore the hiring process for Assistant Public Defenders
(APDs) is very competitive. We attract high-quality graduates from the nation’s
law schools.
Our Assistant Public Defenders graduated from law schools at American
University; Baltimore University; Benjamin Cardozo Law; Boston College; Boston
University; Brooklyn Law School; Capital University School of Law, Columbus,
Ohio; Case Western Law School;
Catholic University; Chicago-Kent Law School; City University of New York;
Columbia University; DePaul University; Emory University; Florida International
University; Florida State University; Florida Costal Law School; Fordham
University; Franklin Pierce Law Center; Georgetown University; George Mason
University; George Washington University; Golden Gate University; Hamline Law
School; Harvard University; Hofstra University; Howard University; Indiana
University; Loyola University; Marquette University; New England Law School; New
York University; Northeastern University; Northwestern University; Nova
Southeastern University; Pace University; Pepperdine University; Roger Williams
University; Rutgers University; Southeastern University; St. Johns University;
St. Thomas University; Stetson University; Suffolk University; Syracuse Law
School; Temple University; Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School
of Law; Thomas Cooley University; Tulane
University; University of Arizona; University of California-Berkeley; University
of Bridgeport; University of Chicago; University of Connecticut; University of
Florida; University of Georgia; University of Iowa; University of Miami;
University of Minnesota; University of Pennsylvania; University of San
Francisco; University of Southern California; University of Tulsa; University of
Virginia; University of Washington; University of Wisconsin; Villanova
University; Western New England College; Widener University and Yale University.
Background
There was a time, despite constitutional provisions to the contrary, when a
double standard of justice existed in this country, one for the financially well
off and another for the poor. That all changed in 1963 when the U.S. Supreme
Court handed down its landmark decision in
Gideon v. Wainwright, and the Florida Legislature responded by establishing
the nation’s first statewide public defender system, with offices in each of its
20 judicial circuits.
The Law Offices of Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez are located in the city of
Miami and representing indigent court-appointed clients for Florida’s Eleventh
Judicial Circuit, which encompasses all of Miami-Dade County. From modest
beginnings, the office today is the equivalent of the largest indigent defense
firm in the Southeastern United States, currently employing nearly 185 lawyers
and a similar number of paralegals, secretaries, investigators, disposition
specialists and other support personnel. We take pride in our record of trial
and appellate work, the number of alumni on the bench and at the top of the
private bar.
Office Structure
Carlos J. Martinez took office in 2009, Miami-Dade’s first new Public
Defender elected in 32 years and the first Cuban-American to hold that office in
the State of Florida. Carlos has been in public defender service for almost 20
years, 12 in senior management. He is credited with creating numerous
initiatives, such as a statewide public defender management training program,
developing our office's strategic planning efforts and has been instrumental in
establishing the Public Defender's Office's Anti-Violence Initiative. Carlos is
a champion of children issues and worked tirelessly to address the crisis of
minority children being cycled from the school house to the jail house. In 2006,
he led the fight to stop the indiscriminate shackling of children in Florida’s
delinquency courts. Carlos’ efforts have led to a national campaign to stop this
abhorrent practice.
Besides our five-story building in Miami’s Civic Center, we also maintain branch
offices at three other locations in the city, serving clients through our County
Court Division, Domestic Representation Unit and Juvenile divisions.
The office administration includes an Executive Assistant Public
Defender/General Counsel, a Senior Administrative Assistant, and an Assistant
General Counsel. The Assistant General Counsel is one of 4 Chief Assistant
Public Defenders in charge of a division. Besides, the Chiefs, there is a
Director of Training & Professionalism, responsible for office-wide attorney
training.
There are 10 Senior Supervising Attorneys who oversee the day-to-day
representation of clients by APDs, while carrying a caseload and helping
formulate office policy. They supervise the Felony, Appellate, Juvenile and
County Court (i.e., misdemeanor and traffic cases) divisions, as well as the
specialized units of Civil Mental Health, Felony Mental Health, Drug Court and
the Indefinite Civil Commitment Unit. Our Capital Litigation Unit is supervised
by two highly experienced APDs who coordinate the litigation and mitigation
phases of these death penalty cases.
The Felony Division consists of the Felony Early Representation Unit (ERU),
Felony Intake and Felony Trial Division. Newly-hired legal trainees and APDs can
expect to do a rotation through ERU or Felony Intake before being assigned to
the Felony Trial Division.
The Felony Trial Division consists of teams of two to four APDs assigned to one
of the 23 courtrooms. The teams receive additional assistance from our Major
Crimes attorneys, who share lead responsibility in the handling of the most
serious felonies, including capital cases. Consistent with state and national
standards and practice in defense of capital (death penalty) cases, we assign no
fewer than two attorneys to each capital case. The office, therefore, encourages
its experienced APDs to become involved in capital litigation, and we provide
training to those lawyers demonstrating a high level of skill and interest in
the capital area.
Emphasis on Training
To ensure truly effective assistance of counsel, it is essential that we
provide our attorneys with the tools and the resources that enable them to reach
their full potential. And that means training. We take great pride in the fact
that we are able to offer our attorneys one of the finest training programs in
the nation.
It begins with an intensive one-week schedule of lectures and demonstrations on
trial practices and case preparation for new lawyers and participants in our
law-student intern program. For our certified legal interns, we have developed a
special one week orientation with an emphasis on hands-on and interactive
training, that will help them in their courtroom assignments. When the new
lawyers and the certified legal interns begin at the same time, there will be an
overlap of some of the lectures and demonstrations. The strength of our office
training activities derives in part from the willingness of veteran attorneys to
share their knowledge and experience with those new to the staff. Most of our
more experienced APD’s have been instructors in these training sessions.
Each new lawyer is also assigned to a Training Attorney. These are experienced
and effective trial lawyers, who work on a one-to-one basis with the new
lawyers. This mentoring allows the new lawyer the opportunity to gain knowledge
and develop trial skills at an advanced rate, while gaining the confidence that
comes from knowing you have the full support of your colleagues.
Other learning opportunities include lectures and demonstrations that the
Training Attorney regularly convenes, often with outside experts speaking on a
number of subjects of interest for our lawyers. The office also regularly sends
our lawyers to seminars and trial practice institutes around the country, such
as those sponsored by the National Criminal Defense College.
The training program is supported The Automation Training Unit, in instructing
the new lawyers on how to use se the computer system. The unit also the develops
training and reference materials to provide resources necessary for optimizing
efficiency. The training is also enhanced by a vast array of computer research
programs and software that provides our lawyers access to a wealth of
information to assist them in getting the job done. However, despite the
impressive formal training program, our most effective training tool is the
informal give and take that the lawyers engage in daily as they discuss their
cases and the law. They share a strong commitment to providing quality
representation to our clients.
In short, while our lawyers handle their own caseloads with a good deal of
autonomy, the objective is to provide the environment and learning experiences
that make it possible for them to do so in a secure and highly competent manner.
We are dedicated to the proposition that any human being facing the loss of
liberty or life through criminal prosecution is entitled not merely to
representation, but the most effective representation possible. If you are
strongly committed to this goal and are interested in our office’s intern
program or career opportunities, please contact,
Robert Coppel, Director of Training and
Professionalism. |
