Partner Offices
The following list contains SPDTC partner offices. These are sites that currently employ lawyers who are part of our training program, have hosted our summer law clerks, or are interested in new hires who wish to join the SPDTC network.
Atlanta Fulton County Public Defender Office
Atlanta, GA
Chief Public Defender: Vernon Pitts
160 Trinity Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-612-5200
Fax: 404-893-6583
vernon.pitts@co.fulton.ga.us
Augusta Circuit PDO
Chief: Sam Sibley
401 Hall St.
Augusta, GA 30901
Phone: 706-312-5105
ssibley@gapublicdefender.org
Caddo Parish Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Alan Golden
625 Texas Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
Phone: 318-221-2220
Fax: 318-221-2247
agolden@caddopdo.org
Capital Defender (North)
Chief Public Defender: Ed Ungvarsky
2300 Clarendon Blvd. Ste. 201 B
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-875-0103
eungvarsky@idc.virginia.gov
Circuit Defender for the 8Th Judicial Circuit
Chief Public Defender: E. Charles Grose Jr.
Suite 203, Park Plaza
600 Monument St. Box P-133
Greenwood, SC 29646
Phone: 864-229-9505
cgrose@pdgreenwood.com
Clayton County Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Christine Van Dross
146 N. McDonald
Jonesboro, GA 30236
Phone: 678-479-5036
Fax: 678-479-5037
cvandross@gapublicdefender.org
County of Charleston Public Defender
Chief Public Defender: D. Ashley Pennington
Recruitment Director: Rhett Dunaway
101 Meeting Street, 5th floor
Charleston, SC 29401-2214
Phone: 843-958-1850
Direct phone: 843-958-5149
RCDunaway@charlestoncounty.org
Dallas County Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Lynn Richardson
Internship Director: Paul J. Blocker
133 N. Riverfront Blvd., 9th floor
Dallas, TX 75207
Phone: 214-653-3550
Fax: 214-653-3539
DeKalb County Public Defender Office
Decatur, GA
Chief Public Defender: Claudia Saari
408 Callaway Building
120 W. Trinity Place
Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: 404-371-2222
Fax: 404-371-2298
cssaari@co.dekalb.ga.us
East Baton Rouge Public Defender Office
Baton Rouge, LA
Chief Public Defender: Michael Mitchell
East Baton Rouge
P.O. Box 3356
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Mam_opd@bellsouth.net
Eastern Circuit Public Defender Office
Savannah, GA
Chief Public Defender: Michael Edwards
540 East Oglethorpe Avenue
Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: 912-447-4901
Fax: 912-447-4909
medwards@gapublicdefender.org
Griffin Judicial Circuit PDO
Chief: Joseph Saia
141 West Solomon St.
Griffin, GA 30223
Phone: 770-467-4725
Fax: 770-467-4724
jsaia@gapublicdefender.org
Hall County Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Brad Morris
111 Spring St., SE
Gainesville, GA 30501
Phone: 770-718-5523
Contact Person: Nicki Vaughan
nvaughan@hallcounty.org
Hinds County Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: William R. LaBarre
P.O. Box 23029
Jackson, MS 39225
Phone: 601-948-2683
Fax: 601-948-2687
blabarre@co.hinds.ms.us
Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office
Chief Public Defender: Mark Stephens
1101 Liberty Street
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: 865-594-6120
Fax: 865-594-6169
mstephens@pdknox.org
LaSalle Parish Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Derek Carson
3170 N 1st St,
Jena, LA 71342
carsonlawoffice@yahoo.com
Look Out Mountain Judicial Circuit
Chief: David Dunn
108 East Villanow St.
PO Box 1810
Lafayette, GA 30728
Phone: 706-638-3290
Fax: 706-638-7331
ddunn@gapublicdefender.org
Macon Circuit Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Wm. Lee Robinson
201 Second St. Suite 550
Macon, GA 31207
Phone: 478-621-5950
Fax: 478-621-5975
Lrobinson@gapublicdefender.org
Metropolitan Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Dawn Deaner
404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 2022
Nashville, TN 37115
Phone: 615-862-5730
Fax: 615-313-9284
www.publicdefender.nashville.gov
dawndeaner@jis.nashville.org
Orleans Public Defender
Chief Public Defender: Derwyn Bunton
Contact Person: Chris Flood
2601 Tulane Avenue, Suite 700
New Orleans, LA 70119
Phone: 504-821-8101
cflood@opdla.org
Rome Judicial Circuit Defender Office (Floyd County)
Chief: Teddy Henley
Floyd County Administrative Building
12 East Fourth
Avenue, Suite 10
Rome, GA 30161
Phone: 706-234-0975
Fax: 706-234-0978
lhenley@gapublicdefender.org
St. John the Baptist Parish Public Defender Office
Chief Public Defender: Richard Stricks
40th Judicial District Public Defender Office
75 Dominican Road, Suite 202
LaPlace, LA 70068-3400
985-651-6677 ext 201
rbstricks@stjohnpdo.org
Terrebonne Parish Public Defender
Chief Public Defender: Anthony Champagne
318 Church Street
Houma, LA 70360
Phone: (985) 873-6831
Washington County Public Defender
Chief Public Defender: Carol Richards
903 Alexander St.
Greenville, MS 38701
Rhythmles33@yahoo.com
Partner Organizations
Pillsbury
Lotze/Mosely
If you would like your office to partner with The SPDTC please fill out this appilcation:
Partner Programs
What is Public Defender Corps?
Criminal justice systems throughout our country fail to afford poor people accused of crimes the representation to which they are entitled. In many places, years of neglect have led professionals operating in these systems to accept this lesser standard of justice for those with the least means. All of society bears the exorbitant cost of sub-par legal representation including expensive and often wrongful incarceration, a values system that fails to honor standards of due process and equal treatment, and the community divisiveness and diminished sense of well-being that results from ignoring the needs and rights of our least fortunate citizens.
To address this problem, the Southern Public Defender Training Center (SPDTC) has partnered with Equal Justice Works to develop a national public defender fellowship program called Public Defender Corps (PDC). PDC is based on the philosophy that through its advocacy, a committed, conscientious, and competent community of public defenders can drive systemic reform by raising the system’s expectations of the quality of representation poor people deserve.
PDC will partner with public defender offices that confront challenges to their ability to provide every client the representation and equal treatment our Constitution guarantees. Through a rigorous nationwide recruitment effort, we will identify recent law graduates qualified to help carry out this mission and, in collaboration with our partner offices, place these lawyers in host sites. Fellows will then participate in an intensive, three-year training and mentorship program designed to both make them better public defenders and support their ability to become strong leaders in the field of indigent defense.