Public Defender Investigator

About Us DO YOUR CAREER JUSTICE! Each and every day, North Carolina's courts help provide safety for our communities, prosperity for our economy, and protection for the rights, liberties, and freedoms that sit at the foundation of our state and federal constitutions. Consider an exciting and rewarding career with us and join the more than 7,000 elected officials and employees who make up our workforce and help us ensure that justice is administrated without favor, denial, or delay. Description of Work SALARY RANGE: $52,217.00 - $79,057.00 The Office of the Public Defender, District 22, which consists of Rockingham and Caswell counties, seeks a qualified individual to investigate all areas of serious misdemeanor and felony indigent defendants' cases that have been assigned by the courts to the Public Defender's Office. Duties include but are not limited to the following: Investigate serious misdemeanor and felony cases to collect information used to verify evidence or to substantiate innocence. Visit clients in jail to conduct initial interviews, and when indicated, consider the appropriateness of and expedition of bond reduction. Determine what facts, opinions, or background information witnesses have that is relevant to the case and prepare a written report, and/or evaluate information with the assigned attorney. Photograph, measure, and draw the crime scene to scale to determine its relationship to the physical evidence. Arrange defense expert witnesses, review experts' credentials, evaluate their potential effectiveness with the jury, and coordinate delivery of evidence to experts. Research criminal histories of defendants, witnesses, and potential jurors. Ensure appearance of witnesses at time of trial and assist in witness preparation. Assist counsel with facts of the case during trial. Conduct special investigations as directed. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities / Competencies: Knowledge of: criminal law and the local court system; evidence collection, investigation, and identification techniques and procedures; and information sources and the ability to extract information from those sources. Skill in: computers and word processing to prepare reports, motions, orders, subpoenas, and other legal documents; and effectively communicate with people of diverse backgrounds both orally and in writing. Ability to: plan and organize an effective approach to the investigation of complex cases and to independently develop leads; schedule work to achieve results on time; prepare clients, their families, and witnesses for court; work irregular hours in conducting investigations; make pertinent observations and to analyze those observations with the charges in a given case; and inspire the confidence of the community in the public defender's office. Valid North Carolina driver's license required. All NC Judicial Branch agencies are Equal Opportunity Employers. The North Carolina Judicial Branch participates in E-Verify, an internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from the US Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility. Charmaine J. Leeks NC Administrative Office of the Courts Human Resources Division Minimum Education and Experience Some state job postings say you can qualify by an "equivalent combination of education and experience." If that language appears below, then you may qualify through EITHER years of education OR years of directly related experience, OR a combination of both. See the Education and Experience Equivalency Guide for det #J-18808-Ljbffr nc