Brendan O’Neill is the Public Defender for the State of Delaware.
His responsibility is to represent every person
who cannot afford a lawyer who has been arrested or charged for
a crime for which they may be sent to jail.
The Public Defender employs seventy-one (71) skilled Assistant
Public Defenders to represent individuals who are accused of a crime. His assistant public defenders average eighteen (18) years experience at the Bar.
These Defenders do not work for the judges, the police or the
Attorney General. They work exclusively for their indigent clients.
These Defenders are experienced trial lawyers and members of the
Delaware Bar sworn to protect the rights of the defendants that
they represent.
The Public Defender's Office provides access to
interpreters, criminal investigators, forensic nurses, psycho-forensic evaluators, psychological and/or medical or psychiatric examinations,
and other experts as needed.
The Public Defender, as Chairman of the Criminal Justice Council's Videophone Committee, has authority over a statewide videophone system with more than 95 locations throughout the state to increase the quality of services available to indigent clients.
