What We Do

We begin working on your case immediately after you’ve been arraigned and assigned to our office.

In order for our office to represent you on your active criminal case, you must let the judge know that you would like to be represented by a public defender and that you cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Our office is equipped with some of the best counsel in the country. Our attorneys work tirelessly year-round to provide a fair, just and zealous defense for our clients. Our lawyers have studied in some of the best law schools in the country, and they’re not afraid to fight for you.

Public Defenders are Public Servants. We are real lawyers.

We’re here to represent, advocate and fight for you and your right to a just and fair trial.

You are entitled to be represented by counsel whether you can afford it or not.

In order for us to represent you, the judge of the court where your case is being heard will appoint our office after finding that you are indigent. Indigent simply means you have insufficient money to afford an attorney to handle the pending case against you.

Administrative Legal Support Team

These are staff who assist our attorneys to ensure our clients receive fair and equitable representation. All are essential to our team. While not all administrative legal teams are housed in each division, each division and its teams have some support staff.

  • Investigators

  • Paralegals

  • Mitigation Specialists

  • Social Workers

  • Client Services Specialists

  • Litigation Assistants

  • Legal Secretaries

  • Law Clerks/Interns

 

Divisions and Teams

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The Adult Division consists of five separate teams: General Sessions, Criminal Court, Direct Representation, Major Cases and Special Litigation.

General Sessions Court handles pre-indictment cases, misdemeanors and preliminary hearings on all offenses. General Sessions courts can be found on the lower level of 201 Poplar Avenue with the exception of General Sessions 14 that has courtrooms on both the 2nd and 10th floors. Trials in General Sessions Court are bench trials, meaning the judge acts as the factfinder. (There are no jury trials). 

Criminal Court handles post-indictment cases - misdemeanors and felonies - from indictment through trial. All 10 divisions can be found on floors 5, 6 and 7 of 201 Poplar Ave.

Special Litigation Unit is our mental health unit. The unit also administers the Jericho Project, a jail diversion program for those who have a severe and/or a persistent mental illness. The Jericho Project is open to both clients of our office and clients of private attorneys.

Direct Representation Unit consists of a group of experienced trial attorneys who handle felony cases from arrest to disposition, including trial, in both General Sessions and the Criminal Courts. 

Major Cases Team (“MCT”) represents clients charged with first degree murder. The team’s members include several attorneys, an investigator, and a mitigation specialist. The MCT uses an interdisciplinary approach to develop defense strategies for use at every stage of its representation, including the accountability and sentencing phases of capital jury trials.

 

The Juvenile Court Team handles delinquency matters in the Shelby County Juvenile Court. 
The Juvenile Transfer Team defends cases in juvenile court where there is a likelihood that the prosecution will request that the client be tried as an adult. If the client is ordered to be tried as an adult, our Juvenile Transfer Team will handle the case through conclusion in adult trial court.

Our Juvenile Court Team Unit is located at 600 Adams, next door to the Shelby County Juvenile Court.

 

 
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The Appellate Division handles cases appealed to the TN Court of Criminal Appeals, TN Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Once assigned to represent a client on a case in trial court, our office will continue to represent the client throughout any appeal of the case. The client will not have to hire a new attorney.