Montgomery County announces investment into Public Defender’s Office

Montgomery County has announced an historic investment in its Public Defender’s Office after approving a significant expansion to its team. The County will immediately seek to hire 15 new public defenders and several non-legal positions, including support staff and a social worker.

“We are proactively investing in our Public Defender’s Office to meet the County’s current and future needs,” said Jamila H. Winder, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “By strengthening our Public Defender’s Office, we are boosting our whole community. We are able to provide the quality of legal defense that our residents deserve, prevent unnecessary incarcerations, and reduce recidivism rates. This is a significant commitment to our justice system which benefits residents, employees, taxpayers, and the County as a whole.”

The decision to increase staffing comes after the release of several nationwide and statewide studies into public defense workload and staffing levels, including The National Public Defense Workload Study, which was published in 2023 in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Association.

“This is the most substantial investment in our Public Defender’s Office since its creation,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija. “Every resident has a constitutional right to counsel. That can’t happen if our public defenders don’t have the bandwidth to provide adequate representation. We have committed to this aggressive hiring plan that ensures the Public Defender’s Office is equipped to protect the right to counsel for county residents.”

“We are adding a number of much-needed positions to the Public Defender’s Office because we are rectifying a situation that has been going on for several years and is no longer sustainable,” said County Commissioner Thomas DiBello. “Appropriately staffing the Public Defender’s Office demonstrates our commitment to addressing the needs of our employees and the County, and is also the most fiscally responsible course of action.”

The Montgomery County Salary Board, comprised of the three County Commissioners and the County Controller, Karen Sanchez, voted unanimously to support immediately right-sizing the Public Defender’s Office to better fit current caseloads and predicted workloads.

“With the addition of more lawyers and administrative support professionals to our team, we will be significantly better equipped to provide quality representation that every individual deserves,” said Christine Lora, Montgomery County’s Chief Public Defender. “This will not only alleviate the burdens on current staff, but also aligns with the national standards for public defender workload and staffing. With this action, this administration shows itself again to be leaders in this Commonwealth. We know this move will lead to improved outcomes for our clients and will allow us to serve more effectively.”

Paul Heaton, academic director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Carey Law Center, serves as chair of Montgomery County’s Public Defender Advisory Board. Heaton published a report analyzing staffing shortfalls in Public Defender’s Offices statewide and found that 91% of counties in Pennsylvania with public defenders are staffed below current standards.

“The constitution—both federal and state—guarantee access to representation, but we know unfortunately throughout the Commonwealth, that constitutional guarantee has been undermined by persistent underfunding,” said Paul Heaton, Chair of the Public Defender Advisory Board. “We’ve done research that suggests Montgomery County is not alone – 60 out of 66 Pennsylvania counties have staffing levels that are below constitutional norms. But with this historic vote, we’re going to be taking a very significant step to close that gap.”

“What we’re doing right now is a monumental move on behalf of Montgomery County, leading the Commonwealth in trying to fix this,” said Lora.

Qualified applicants interested in working at Montgomery County can find current job listings online at montgomerycountypa.gov/jobs.