Los Angeles County Public Defender
Seal of Los Angeles County, California
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| Office overview | |
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| Formed | 1914 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Los Angeles County |
| Headquarters |
Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 210 West Temple Street Los Angeles, California,  United States34°01′53″N 118°16′04″W / 34.031399°N 118.267882°WCoordinates: 34°01′53″N 118°16′04″W / 34.031399°N 118.267882°W |
| Motto | "To enrich lives through effective and caring service." |
| Office executive |
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| Website | Los Angeles County Public Defender |
The Los Angeles County Public Defender's (LACPD) office is an agency of the government of Los Angeles County. LACPD was the first public defender agency in the United States. It provides legal assistance to individuals charged with a crime in state court who are financially unable to retain private counsel. The LACPD system is the largest public defender agency in the United States. The Alternate Public Defender (APD) and LACPD combined have over one thousand attorneys as well as support staff consisting of paralegals, investigators, social workers, and others.
Courts within their jurisdiction include the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal for the Second District, and the California Supreme Court. The Los Angeles County District Attorney and the Los Angeles City Attorney prosecute alleged felony and misdemeanor violations of California state law that occur within the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Alleged federal law violations by indigent defendants are defended by the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California.
At the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, during a "Congress" of the Board of Lady Managers, Clara Shortridge Foltz made her first highly public presentation of her idea of the public defender. Then, due to Foltz's persistent efforts over a period of several years, Los Angeles County established a public defender office in 1913 under its county charter. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors appointed the first Public Defender in the United States, Walton J. Wood. The original staff consisted of Wood, four deputies and a secretary.
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