Assistant Public Defender

Assistant Public Defender

The Public Defender of Northampton County is now accepting resumes for the position of full time Assistant Public Defender. The Public Defender represents eligible individuals at all stages of misdemeanor and felony criminal cases, and in certain summary cases, including pretrial identification procedures, preliminary hearings, pretrial motions, trials, post-trial proceedings, sentencing proceedings, probation and parole violation hearings, etc. To qualify you must possess a Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school, be licensed to practice law in the State of Pennsylvania, and be a member in good standing, or pending admission to practice law.

GENERAL PURPOSE: The Assistant Full-Time Public Defender represents indigent clients throughout critical stages of criminal proceedings at the County and municipal levels. Work includes but is not limited to preparing and filing motions and briefs, handling preliminary hearings, summary trials, violation hearings, bail matters, appeals and jury and non-jury trials at the Court of Common Pleas.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED: This position reports directly to the Chief Public Defender. SUPERVISION EXERCISED: This position is not responsible for the supervision of other employees.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES OF THE POSITION: Receives criminal case assignments from supervisory legal or other office staff. Determines issues to be raised, communicates with the client and determines the case strategy. Represents defendants at pre-trial hearings, prepares motions and conducts legal research. Interviews involved individuals and collaborates with investigators. Prepares and handles bail petitions, motions for pretrial discovery, omnibus pretrial motions and prepares responses to opposing petitions. Assembles records and completes case development. Prepares and submits lists of witnesses to be subpoenaed for trial. Confers with and negotiates settlements with opposing lawyers. Coordinates case preparation and presentation. Handles jury and non-jury trials and appellate matters. Confers with County probation and other County departments. Develops arguments for sentencing, including gathering information about employment, education, addictive behaviors and other points that may mitigate the sentencing process.

REQUIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE – The candidate must possess a Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school and must be licensed to practice law in the State of Pennsylvania, and be a member in good-standing. Employees assigned to this title will be required to possess and maintain a valid and current motor vehicle operator's license with an acceptable driving record. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES The candidate must possess working knowledge of Federal, State and local statutes, case law, rules of evidence and practices governing and/or affecting criminal law. The candidate must possess strong legal research and analytical skills. The candidate must possess superior time-management skills and the ability to multitask. The candidate must have the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, clients, representatives of judicial and other government agencies and members of the bar and the judiciary. TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT The candidate must have a telephone and personal computer. The candidate will have access to the fax machine, copy machine, office computer and paper shredder maintained at the Office of the Public Defender. PHYSICAL DEMANDS While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk, sit, talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to ten (10) pounds. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. WORK ENVIRONMENT The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderately quiet.

SELECTION GUIDELINES Formal application, rating of education and experience, oral interview and reference check as well as job related tests may be required. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change. FLSA STATUS: FLSA EXEMPT (NOT ELIGIBLE FOR OVERTIME) DESIGNATION: EXEMPT SERVICE PAY GRADE: CE/GROUP IV UNION STATUS: NON-UNION Updated July 2023