The Private Defender Program is a Managed Assigned Counsel (MAC) program. A Public Defender’s Office and a MAC program are both systems for providing indigent criminal defense, but they differ in structure and administration.

Public Defender’s Offices employ full-time attorneys who represent indigent clients, while MAC programs assign cases to private attorneys who contract with the program. The program ensures the attorneys have the support they need to represent their clients effectively and provides oversight to maintain high-quality legal defense throughout the process.

PDP attorneys are private attorneys with their own legal practices who take on assigned cases. We support these attorneys by providing access to investigators, social workers, client advocates, expert witnesses, and other ancillary services. We also oversee cases and offer ongoing education, training, and guidance to ensure the highest standard of representation. For more information on the managed assigned counsel approach, see below.