public defender

noun

a lawyer appointed or elected by a city or county as a full-time, official defender to represent indigents in criminal cases at public expense.

public defender

noun

(in the US) a lawyer engaged at public expense to represent indigent defendants

public defender

An attorney who is appointed and paid by a court to defend poor persons who cannot afford a lawyer.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of public defender¹

First recorded in 1915–20

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A representative from the Ventura County public defender’s office was not available to comment on behalf of the accused.

From

A lawyer who represented Martinez at his arraignment directed questions to the Los Angeles County public defender’s media representatives, who didn’t respond to a request for comment.

From

Espinoza originally weighed shutting down the facility last year when the public defender’s office questioned the legality of its continued operation in defiance of the BSCC.

From

County public defender’s office, said Padilla had been granted pretrial diversion but declined to comment further.

From

The first time Kennedy heard of the department’s so-called deputy gangs was in the 1990s, when he was working as a federal public defender.

From

public debt public domain

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