Divisions Overview
Under KRS Chapter 31, DPA is responsible for representing all indigents charged with a crime, those proceeded against under KRS Chapter 202A (Kentucky’s involuntary commitment process), and those prosecuted for civil contempt pursuant to Lewis v Lewis, Ky., 875 S.W2d 862 (1993). Each year, DPA’s criminal specialists handle over 140,000 trial and post trial cases statewide, including DUI cases, involuntary commitment cases, juvenile cases, and demanding, complex and difficult cases involving sex abuse, and cases where death is sought as the penalty.
The DPA is organized into four divisions. Trial, Post Trial, Law Operations, and Protection and Advocacy.
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DPA Organizational Chart |
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Public Advocacy Commission |
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The 12 person Public Advocacy Commission consists of a representative from each of the three Kentucky law schools, three members appointed by the Governor from recommendations of the Kentucky Bar Association and one member from recommendations by the Protections and Advocacy Advisory Boards and three at-large members and two members appointed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The Commission is a critical way the independence of DPA is advanced as is required by the American Bar Association as set out in Principle 1 of the ABA Ten Principles Of a Public Defense Delivery System (February 2002)
Principle #1: The public defense function, including the selection, funding, and payment of defense counsel, is independent. The public defense function should be independent from political influence and subject to judicial supervision only in the same manner and to the same extent as retained counsel. To safeguard independence and to promote efficiency and quality of services, a nonpartisan board should oversee defender, assigned counsel, or contract systems. Removing oversight from the judiciary ensures judicial independence from undue political pressures and is an important means of furthering the independence of public defense. The selection of the chief defender and staff should be made on the basis of merit, and recruitment of attorneys should involve special efforts aimed at achieving diversity in attorney staff.
The Commission Chair since 2010 has been Jerry J. Cox, Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Previous Commission chairs have been
- Robert C. Ewald, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, Louisville, 1993-2010;
- William R Jones, Professor of Chase Law School and formerly its Dean;
- Anthony M. Wilhoit, former Kentucky Court of Appeals Chief Judge and now Executive Director of the Legislative Ethics Commission;
- Max Smith, Frankfort criminal defense attorney; and
- Paula M. Raines, Lexington attorney and psychologist.
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