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New assistant public defenders take oath

Published: November 3, 2026
Author: Glover Wright
We are excited to welcome seven new assistant public defenders to the Shelby County Public Defender, including six former Legal Fellows newly licensed as lawyers.
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L to R: Karl King, Britney Slimovitch, Matthew Deutsch, Celeste Robinette, Akil Purdy, Isaiah Kazunga, and Elizabeth Thornton

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We are excited to welcome seven new assistant public defenders to the Shelby County Public Defender. Six of these lawyers — Britney Slimovitch, Matthew Deutsch, Celeste Robinette, Akil Purdy, Isaiah Kazunga, and Elizabeth Thornton — are newly licensed attorneys who came to us via our Legal Fellows program, while our new colleague Karl King has been a practicing criminal defense lawyer in Mississippi and Tennessee for about 15 years.

Judge James Jones, Jr., who presides over Criminal Court Division 3, swore in all seven lawyers as assistant public defenders on Tuesday, November 2.

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