Job Description

PUBLIC DEFENDER

(Non-classified)

JOB CODE 10230

Effective Date:	01/98N

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:

The fundamental reason this classification exists is to serve as the City's Public Defender and plan, direct, manage, and supervise the City's Public Defender Office. Work involves hiring and supervising more than fifty attorneys who contract to serve as public defenders, preparing and monitoring a budget, reviewing proposed legislation, developing policies and procedures, and handling high profile cases. The incumbent reports to the Public Defender Review Committee which is appointed by the City Council. The work is reviewed by the Committee on the basis of results achieved.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Plans, organizes and supervises the office of the Public Defender;
• Hires and coordinates the work of full-time professional and support staff and a large number of contract attorneys who provide representation to indigent defendants of the Phoenix Municipal Court;
• Prepares and monitors a budget;
• Reviews, coordinates and assigns cases;
• Develops policies and procedures for the Public Defender program;
• Provides oral and written reports to the Public Defender Review Committee and the City Council;
• Serves as lead attorney of cases with court-wide impact;
• Demonstrates continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality seamless customer service.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• City codes and state statutes with emphasis on criminal law and procedures.
• Judicial procedures and rules of evidence.
• Principles of criminal law and of appeal procedures as they relate to the violations of municipal ordinances of state statutes.
• Principles of office management, contract management and supervision.

Ability to:

• Analyze, appraise, research and organize facts, evidence, and precedents and present them in oral and written reports.
• Work cooperatively with other employees, customers, clients, and the public.
• Comprehend and make inferences from written material.
• Produce documents written in the English language using proper sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, spelling, and legal citations.
• Perform a broad range of supervisory responsibilities over others.
• Communicate orally in the English language with judges, attorney and the public using a telephone and in group and face-to-face, one-to-one settings.
• Enter and retrieve data or information from a terminal, PC, or other keyboard device.

Additional Requirements:

• Some positions will require the performance of other essential and marginal functions depending upon work location, assignment, or shift.

• Admission to the State Bar of Arizona.

ACCEPTABLE EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:
Five years experience as a practicing criminal defense attorney, including two years of substantial involvement in the management process and policy making function of a law office, and graduation from an accredited school of law. Other combinations of experience and education that meet the minimum requirements may be substituted.