The New Hampshire Public Defender provides state-wide representation for the vast majority of people facing criminal and delinquency prosecution in New Hampshire who cannot afford to retain private counsel.  We are a private, nonprofit corporation created in 1972 to ensure that New Hampshire has a cost-effective, efficient way to provide high quality representation to indigent defendants.  The program has nine offices located in communities throughout the state, plus an Appellate Defender Program and administrative offices in Concord, the state capital.  We operate the Appellate Defender Program in cooperation with the Pierce Law Center, New Hampshire’s only accredited law school.

Our practice includes representing children in juvenile delinquency cases in the local District and Family Courts, representing adult clients in misdemeanor, felony, homicide and capital cases in the District and Superior Courts; and conducting appellate advocacy in the New Hampshire Supreme Court. All attorneys in the Public Defender Program carry caseloads made up of a wide variety of delinquency and criminal cases.  Our lawyers provide “vertical” representation to clients, advocating on behalf of individual clients from initial appointment through final disposition of our client’s cases.  

An all-volunteer Board of Directors oversees the program’s operations, and is dedicated to ensuring that the New Hampshire Public Defender works hard to maintain its national reputation as an organized and cost-effective public interest law firm whose attorneys and investigators are committed to serving the interests and needs of their clients with skill and determination.

The new public defender who joins us after taking the bar exam receives 5 weeks of intensive training presented by NHPD’s Litigation Director and senior staff attorneys from throughout the program.  New attorneys receive extensive supervision and support throughout their first year and beyond. 

In early 2004, the New Hampshire Bar Association honored the Public Defender Program by making us the first-ever recipient of the Hollman Award, given annually to recognize the efforts of individuals who have, or organizations which have, significantly advanced the cause of gender equality and worked to promote “respect and fair treatment toward all members of the judicial system.”