THE PUBLIC DEFENDER CONCEPT--
WHY & WHEN?
The Public Defender concept was pioneered by the County of Los Angeles. Responding to the County Charter of 1913, the Board of Supervisors appointed the first Public Defender in the United States, Walton J. Wood. The office was opened for business on January 9, 1914 and from that time has constituted a regular department of Los Angeles County government. Since then the idea has spread to many other cities and states, and the Public Defender is now a well established concept servicing courts throughout the United States. In 1915 the public defense office was extended to the City of Los Angeles for the police courts -- The Police Court Defender - eventually handling the Municipal Court cases, while the County Public Defender handled the Superior Court felony cases. The City Public Defender merged into the county office in 1965, the one office handling misdemeanors, felonies, juvenile cases, mental health cases and some civil cases (presently -civil contempt).
Today, Michael P. Judge, the ninth Public Defender to be appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, heads a staff of over six hundred licensed attorneys who devote their full time to representing persons who have been accused of a crime, have no attorney, and lack the means to employ one. Others who appear in the juvenile and mental health courts are likewise represented. There is no distinction between the obligations of a defender toward his client and the duties of a private attorney in the same circumstances.
The Public Defender concept providing legal defense representation reflects society's concern that all individuals, including indigents, receive proper counsel to protect their rights under the law. This action helps to maintain a balance in the adversary process of determining the truth of accusations, and has proven itself to be cost effective for the taxpayers.
This "weight" becomes all encompassing to the individual as the seriousness degree of the crime increases. When the total liberty of a person is restricted in the more serious arrests, it is an increasing responsibility of the Justice System to carefully determine that the restriction is indeed a lawful one.
Thus, society must be vigilant of the Justice System to insure that all persons brought before the law have proper representation and that a proper balance within the system is maintained among the prosecution, defense and judicial activities. Only in this way will citizens be assured that the law will be applied effectively and equitably to all persons.
The value of having a deputy public defender's representation is reflected in the following excerpt from the Reader's Digest in 1965:
'Even if I had $10,000 I couldn't buy that kind of defense -- for kind of money,' says Rossi today. 'And here I am a nobody, just a 52-year- old bartender in a jam. 'When a plain nobody gets a defense only a rich somebody could buy, you got a real great country.'"
In the words of former Public Defender Ellery E. Cuff: "Justice to each individual, regardless of financial conditions, race, creed or color, is the concern of all the public, and it is the duty of the State, rather than private individuals or agencies to safeguard the rights of an accused person."
THE PUBLIC DEFENDER
Walton J. Wood, was the first public defender appointed by the Board of Supervisors. He served from January 6, 1914 to January 2, 1921.
William Tell Aggeler was the second, appointed after Woods was elected to the Superior Court and appointed to the bench in January 1921. Mr. Aggeler started in the Office on February 3, 1914, was appointed Public Defender on January 3, 1921 and served until August 2, 1927. He was appointed to the Superior Court bench on August 15, 1927.
Frederic H. Vercoe became a deputy public defender on June 24, 1914 and was appointed the third Public Defender on August 3,1927, retiring on Nov. 1, 1946.
William B. Neeley started in the Office on September 27, 1928 and served as the fourth Public Defender from November 1, 1946 until he was appointed to the Superior court on February 17, 1949.
Ellery E. Cuff took the reins the following day, having been a trial attorney in the Office since August 27, 1928, and served as the fifth Public Defender until his retirement on April 30, 1963.
The sixth Public Defender was Erling J. Hovden, who joined the Office on June 12, 1930 and served as head of the Office from May 1, 1963 to January 31, 1967 when he retired.
The seventh Public Defender was Richard S. Buckley who served from June 13, 1967 to his retirement on January 11, 1976.
Wilbur F. Littlefield, the eighth Public Defender was a veteran of thirty six years of public defender service, 17 as the head of the Office, when he retired in November, 1993.
The current Public Defender appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is Michael P. Judge who began his career as a trial deputy on October 20, 1969, before his appointment as Los Angeles County Public Defender on May 1, 1994.