Fulton County Conflict Defender Office Joins GPDSC

Atlanta – The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council (GPDSC) announced this week that the Fulton County Conflict Defender (FCCD) Office will be joining the agency as the Metro Conflict Defender Office effective January 1, 2006.  The FCCD was incorporated in 1996 under the direction of Paul Kehir as a public defender organization of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council. FCCD’s mission was to provide quality representation to indigent persons accused of felony crimes in Fulton County, in cases in which the Fulton County Public Defender’s office had a conflict of interest.  The new Metro Conflict Defender will continue that mission as it joins GPDSC.

GPDSC’s director Michael Mears stated, “We are very pleased that we’ve been able to bring the Fulton County Conflict Defender Office into our organization. The Conflict Defender Office has an excellent reputation for providing quality legal services to its clients. We feel that the experience of the attorneys and staff members, under the able leadership of Jan Hankins, will continue to enhance the Public Defender Standards Council’s quality of representation for poor people in the metropolitan Atlanta community.”

Headed up by director Jan Hankins, the Metro Conflict Defender currently has a staff of 54 employees including attorneys, investigators, paralegals and administrative personnel.  The office will continue to provide representation for indigent persons accused of felony and juvenile offenses which present a conflict of interest for the public defender, including appellate representation.  The office will also serve as the public defender in the State and Magistrate courts of Fulton County and accept appointment of conflict cases in the Superior and Juvenile Courts of Dekalb County.

“This is a long-anticipated partnership for MCD, and we are thrilled to become part of an organization whose excellent leadership and standards are dedicated to ensuring that our constitutional protections are afforded to all of Georgia’s citizens,” stated Hankins. “GPDSC is energetically and tirelessly seeking to fulfill its mandate from Georgia’s legislators to provide the means for equal justice for all Georgians.”

The Metro Conflict Defender’s offices are located in the Equitable Building at 100 Peachtree St., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30303.

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