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GPDSC Staff
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Mack Crawford
Director

Mary McCall Cash
Deputy Director
and Senior Staff Attorney

Marques Smith
Deputy Director
Administration

Jimmonique Rodgers
Appellate Division Director

Jerry Word
Acting Capital Defender

Jim Stokes
Conflict Division Director

Sabrina Rhinehart
Mental Health Divison Director

 







Georgia Public Defender News

09/01/2010

Robert Persse, Ogeechee Circuit CPD, is among the 31 attorneys and judges whose names were submitted to fill two vacancies on the Georgia Court of Appeals. One vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Alan Blackburn and the other by the untimely death of Judge Debra Bernes. From this list, the Judicial Nominating Commission plans to send Governor Perdue a short list of as many as 10 nominees. This list, along with seven others who were on the short list for the Supreme Court seat now held by Justice David Nahmias, will be submitted to the governor for his final selection. The JNC plans to hold interviews on September 15 and on September 16, if necessary.

08/18/2010

Claudia Saari, Acting Circuit Public Defender for the Stone Mountain Circuit, has been selected to be a member of the State Bar’s Board of Governors. According to the Bar’s bylaws, the Board of Governors “shall control and administer the affairs of the State Bar and shall have the power to do all things and take all actions which in its judgment may be necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of the State Bar . . . .” Regarding her selection, Claudia said, “I am deeply honored that President Bryan Cavan appointed me to the State Bar Board of Governors.” As a new member of the Board, Claudia joins veteran members Jerry Word, GPDSC Acting Capital Defender, and Nicki Vaughan, Senior Assistant Public Defender in the Northeastern Circuit.

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08/17/2010

Every year the Fulton County Daily Report chooses 10 attorneys in Georgia under 40 whom they consider “10 to Watch.” This year they are featuring two attorneys with GPDSC connections: Brett M. Willis, a public defender in the Northeastern Circuit, and Ben Goldberg, who was until last month a public defender in the Conasauga Circuit. We congratulate Brett and Ben on this achievement and on their dedication to indigent defense in Georgia.

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08/17/2010

The John R. Justice Program is a federally funded grant program designed to help attract and retain prosecutors and public defenders by administering financial aid in the form of grants to help repay student loans associated with law school. This program is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state’s allocation is based on its population. Georgia will receive $278,124 to be split evenly between prosecutors and defenders. The Georgia Student Finance Commission will be administering the program and will make 58 awards of $4,076 to 29 prosecutors and 29 defenders.

Find out more about the JRJ Grant Program >>


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We are located in the State Bar Bulding in downtown Atlanta.

Georgia Public Defender Standards Council
104 Marietta Street, Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 232-8900
(800) 676-4432
Fax: (404) 651-5706

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Our Mission
The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council is an independent agency within the executive branch of the state government of Georgia . The mission of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council is to ensure, independently of political considerations or private interests, that each client whose cause has been entrusted to a circuit public defender receives zealous, adequate, effective, timely, and ethical legal representation, consistent with the guarantees of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, the Constitution of the United States and the mandates of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act of 2003; to provide all such legal services in a cost efficient manner; and to conduct that representation in such a way that the criminal justice system operates effectively to achieve justice.

[Reference: O.C.G.A. § 17-12-1 (c), Georgia Indigent Defense Act of 2003]