OPPAGA Government Program Summary

What is the purpose of the public defender?

Public defenders provide legal representation for any person who is determined to be indigent and who is

under arrest for or charged with a felony;
under arrest for or charged with a misdemeanor authorized for prosecution by the state attorney, a violation of the State Uniform Traffic Control Law, criminal contempt, or under certain conditions, a violation of a special law or county or municipal ordinance;
alleged to be a delinquent child facing possible imprisonment; or
sought by petition to be involuntarily placed as a mentally ill person, involuntarily committed as a sexually violent predator, or involuntarily admitted to residential services as a person with developmental disabilities.

How are public defenders appointed to defendants?

A defendant entitled to counsel has counsel appointed when formally charged with an offense, or as soon as feasible after arrest, or at the first appearance before a judge, whichever occurs earliest.

Defendants must pay a $50 fee and submit an application with the county clerk of court, who then determines whether the defendant is eligible for public defender services. Defendants are eligible for public defender services if their income levels are equal to or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines.

How many public defenders are there?

There are 20 elected public defenders who practice in 20 circuit courts and 67 county courts.

How long is a public defender's term?

Public defenders are elected to four-year terms under the provisions of article V, section 18 of the Florida Constitution.

How many cases do public defenders work?

In Fiscal Year 2021-22, public defenders reported that they were appointed to 521,377 cases (including re-opened cases) representing 431,519 clients. During this same time period, the public defenders reported closing 526,419 cases.

Do public defenders represent defendants in appeals cases?

Not every public defender's office represents clients on appeal. There are five appellate divisions located in the Second, Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fifteenth Judicial Circuits. These divisions are composed of the same circuits that make up the District Court of Appeal for that area. Case files are transferred to the appropriate public defender appellate division at the conclusion of the sentencing phase of the proceedings. The only exception to this transfer rule is if the case involves the death penalty. Post-conviction motions in death penalty cases are handled by the Capital Collateral Regional Counsels.

How are these activities funded?

Fiscal Year: 2023-24

Title	Fund	Dollars	Positions
PUBLIC DEFENDERS
	01-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	13,379,295	126.00
	02-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	8,914,148	86.00
	03-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	4,270,871	33.00
	04-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	17,284,002	156.00
	05-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	14,006,047	127.50
	06-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	24,312,204	238.50
	07-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	12,676,806	117.00
	08-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - EIGHTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	8,376,001	75.00
	09-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	23,399,864	220.00
	10-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	12,088,168	116.00
	11-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	42,414,696	390.00
	12-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	11,462,147	95.50
	13-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	24,422,401	218.00
	14-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	7,874,105	67.00
	15-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	20,869,791	189.00
	16-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	4,414,134	39.00
	17-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	25,129,215	223.00
	18-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	13,682,452	113.00
	19-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	9,569,309	86.00
	20-PROGRAM: PUBLIC DEFENDERS - TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT	16,390,262	141.00
TOTAL		314,935,918	2,856.50

Source: www.transparencyflorida.gov

Updates

Violent Offenses Committed Against Criminal Defense Attorneys. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-190, Laws of Florida, to provide for enhanced punishment for certain violent offenses committed against a public defender or a criminal conflict and civil regional counsel acting in his or her capacity as defense counsel or against a court-appointed counsel or a defense attorney in a criminal proceeding acting in his or her capacity as defense counsel. The bill adds sentence point multipliers to the Criminal Punishment Code for a list of violent offenses including attempted first degree murder (2.5 multiplier), attempted second degree murder (2.0 multiplier), and aggravated battery (1.5 multiplier).

Pay Increases and Other Appropriations. In the 2023 General Appropriations Act (Ch. 2023-239, Laws of Florida),the Legislature allocated $24.8 million to provide pay increases of up to 10% to recruit and retain assistant state attorneys, assistant public defenders, and conflict counsel attorneys. In addition, they allocated $2.8 million to replace motor vehicles for state attorneys and public defenders and $2.4 million for 24 additional state attorney positions.

Visiting County and Municipal Detention Facilities. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-232, Laws of Florida, to authorize the following individuals who are elected or appointed to serve the county or municipality in which the county or municipal detention facility is located, to visit such detention facilities at their pleasure.

Members of the governing body of the county or municipality
Members of the Legislature
State court judges
The state attorney
The public defender
The regional counsel

Where can I find related OPPAGA reports?

Due Process Services, Report 19-18, December 2019

Where can I get more information?

Other Reports
The Auditor General reports on public defender offices are located on its website.

Websites of Interest
Florida Public Defender Association, Inc.
National Legal Aid & Defender Association
National Association for Public Defense
Florida State Courts
U. S. Department of Justice

Performance Information

What are the applicable statutes?

Article V, Section 18, Constitution of the State of Florida, and Ch. 27 Part III, Florida Statutes

Whom do I contact for help?

Ashlei Richardson, Executive Director, Florida Public Defenders Association, Inc., 850-488-6850
Website

Justice Administrative Commission

Public Defenders