About Us

The Public Defender Program is a private, nonprofit law firm founded in 1972 to give New Hampshire a cost-effective means of satisfying its constitutional mandate to provide reliable and effective representation for the indigent accused. By recruiting skilled and dedicated attorneys, by ensuring their ongoing and rigorous training, and by supporting them with adequate litigation resources, the Public Defender contributes to the cause of equal justice and helps increase the public’s trust in the fairness of our criminal justice system.

The Program’s attorneys represent clients facing criminal and delinquency prosecution who cannot afford to retain private counsel, appearing in more than a quarter of all the trial and appellate proceedings that take place in every court in the State. We serve clients out of nine trial offices located in communities throughout New Hampshire. Managing Attorneys in each office, all of whom carry substantial caseloads of their own, oversee the representation we provide and ensure that the performance of our work on behalf of clients meets our high expectations for professionalism, diligence and skill.

General operations of the Program are overseen by a small central administration located in Concord. An independent Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that the Public Defender Program as a whole meets its obligations to provide competent representation for the accused. The New Hampshire Judicial Council, an Executive Branch agency that contracts with the Public Defender to provide criminal-defense defense services, is responsible for overseeing the Public Defender Program, reviewing its accounting and statistical reports, and enforcing caseload and performance standards.