Who We Are

Southern Oregon Public Defender, Inc. (SOPD)

A team of Attorneys, Investigators, and Support Staff who maintain a holistic approach to working your case.

We specifically advocate for indigent and marginalized community members.We represent those criminally charged with felonies and misdemeanors, as well as those charged in juvenile dependency and delinquency petitions. We represent these community members from initial appearance through to final appearance, and beyond.

Attorneys in our office are not for individual hire, they are specifically appointed to cases by the local Circuit Court, as established in ORS 135.050 which is pursuant to the landmark cases of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) (the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal defendants in state court by way of the Fourteenth Amendment), and In Re: Gault (1967) which guarantee counsel to everyone despite their ability to pay. You must fill out an application with the local Circuit Court, before we can be appointed to your case.

SOPD supports the ABA’s ten principles of a Public Defense Delivery System:

  1. Independence: We are a nonprofit entity, not a government agency or a for-profit law firm.  Accountable to a board of community members.               

  2. Adequate Funding: We promote parity of resources for our cases, equal to that of privately-retained attorneys, and the prosecution.     

  3. Workload Controls: Quality of representation should always make way over quantity of representation.

  4. Transparency: Openness and honesty in our work should be used to make necessary systemic improvements.  

  5. Eligibility: Advocacy is provided at no-charge to our clients.

  6. Access to Counsel: Counsel should be provided early and be unrestricted.

  7. Training and Supervision: We support adequate training and supervision of attorneys, so that clients receive the best representation.

  8. Vertical Representation: The same attorney should be with you each step of the way.

  9. Essential Support: Quality representation includes specialized professionals and quality investigation to help defend each case.

  10. Public Defense as Partners:  Public Defense Providers should be included as equal participants in the legal system, particularly as we work to make progressive reforms to the system.

 

Our History (short-version): 

Southern Oregon Public Defender, Inc. (SOPD) was formed in June of 1985 by three Jackson County attorneys Frank DeSimone, Herbert Putney, and Robert Warren. These attorneys saw a need for nonprofit indigent defense in Southern Oregon and took steps to address that concern. In 1992, SOPD expanded their nonprofit defense work to include Josephine County and opened an office in Grants Pass.

Since that time, SOPD attorneys, investigators, and support staff have been protecting individuals from government overreach, by appearing in and out of court with our clients every step along the way, from initial appearances, through to motions, trials, sentencings, acquittals, and expungement of criminal and arrest records.

Throughout SOPD’s 40 years: Attorneys have stepped forward from SOPD to become judges, law firm partners, independent attorneys, community advocates, government leaders, and your community-committed neighbors.