Public Defender 1 - Iowa City Office

Overview

Closing Date : 9 / 30 / 2025

Are you ready to make a meaningful impact through public service? The Iowa State Public Defender's Office is seeking a highly motivated, skilled, and enthusiastic attorney to serve as a Public Defender 1 in our Iowa City office located in Johnson County, Iowa.

Who We Are

The mission of the Office of the State Public Defender is to ensure that all indigent persons in Iowa are provided high quality legal representation in criminal, juvenile, and other eligible proceedings in the most efficient and fiscally responsible manner.

What You'll Do

As a Public Defender attorney in this position, you will :

• Advocate for indigent clients in assigned cases at every state of the criminal justice system at a trainee level.
• Receive training and mentoring from dedicated, experienced public defenders in an atmosphere which encourages growth and development of an attorney's skills and career.
• Represent clients in court at pre-trial hearings, bench or jury trials, sentencings and other court hearings.
• Prepare a defense, conducting legal research, gathering facts, and interviewing the client and witnesses to determine the merits of case and appropriate course of action.
• Conduct pretrial discovery, including depositions, withdraw pleas, and suppression motions.
• Negotiate plea bargains, dismissals, or other disposition of assigned cases with prosecuting attorneys.
• Work closely with clients, providing and discussing information, plan case strategy and trial preparation.
• Maintain appropriate communication with clients about case status and answering client questions.
• Identify potential legal issues to advance client's case, research applicable law, and draft appropriate motions and briefs.
• Prepare various legal documents, including written arraignments, written guilty pleas, motions, briefs, and letters.
• May direct work of investigators consistent with internal office policies.
• Maintain client case files, prepare public defender time reports to the court, and close files consistent with office policies.

What We Offer

When you join the SPD, you become a part of a strong team culture that is committed to serving the community. In addition to providing a respect for work-life balance, we have a competitive total compensation package for all of our full-time employees, including :

For additional information on benefits, please note this information is available during the application process.

This is a non-merit position for the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing - Public Defender.

Positions in this class are exempt from the screening and referral requirements of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services - Human Resources Enterprise.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Applicants must have graduated from an accredited law school and possess a current license to practice law in the State of Iowa prior to commencing employment in positions in this job classification.

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