Federal Public Defender With A Decade of Experience Taking Questions Forum

[realworldescapee]

Hello,

I am currently a federal public defender in a local branch office in the boonies. Previously I was state public defender in two state systems. One was a large metro area, the other was a mid-metro area. I'm doing a bit a travel in the upcoming days but I am willing to take questions about criminal law, the practice of law, federal/state work, and even my thoughts on prosecution work (for those that want it). I'm not willing to out myself. But I know the people on the forum are often anxious, and the fall is a stressful time for people in school looking for jobs. So I'm happy to help out however I can.

All the best,

RWE

[Anonymous User]

Hey, fellow AFPD here. I'm considering trying my hand at clerking and may have an in with a more conservative judge on a circuit court. However, I want to come back and be an AFPD. You think other offices would give me funny looks if I ended up needing to be in a different office due to the clerkship?

Also, what're your thoughts on the budget cuts?

[Anonymous User]

For people that are geographically open, what are the offices you would recommend applying to from what you've seen or heard. Or what qualities should applicants be looking for in an office.

[Anonymous User]

Not the OP, but am the other AFPD. WD TX is looking for folks. A lot of southwestern ones like AZ/NM/TX are constantly looking for folks. I think spanish is a must?

[Anonymous User]

Not the OP, but am the other AFPD. WD TX is looking for folks. A lot of southwestern ones like AZ/NM/TX are constantly looking for folks. I think spanish is a must?

Yes, in AZ at least, AFPDs must be fluent in Spanish (not an AFPD myself but worked in that district for while).

[realworldescapee]

Hey, fellow AFPD here. I'm considering trying my hand at clerking and may have an in with a more conservative judge on a circuit court. However, I want to come back and be an AFPD. You think other offices would give me funny looks if I ended up needing to be in a different office due to the clerkship?

Also, what're your thoughts on the budget cuts?

Budget cuts are unfortunate. The rumor that I have heard is that the DSO can make it until July 2023 without having to take any measures like furloughs. I think the next fiscal year is where things get interesting.

As for clerkship, I think it depends on the reasons for leaving and returning. As I am sure you know once you are in the Fed system it is easy to move around

[realworldescapee]

For people that are geographically open, what are the offices you would recommend applying to from what you've seen or heard. Or what qualities should applicants be looking for in an office.

Hi, for federal gigs, if you are geographically open, you should apply to any position within a district you are willing to live permanently. You should do your due diligence on your district, but many offices will hire people in a branch office where it is harder to recruit and then bring them back to civilization after a couple of years. Moving within a district is much easier than moving between districts. However, moving between districts is not as hard as getting into the Fed system.

For state PD systems, you should pick a state where you want to live and get a PD job that will take you, subject to some things that I will say below. If you have good recap from your last job, the big shot PD office you couldn’t get in with at that right time will probably eventually take you.

For state offices, I would honestly try to find someone in the area or at the office to give you the details of working at the office. Every state system (including most of the highly sought after offices) have a lot of dysfunction in them. This is caused by a variety of factors, but the most common is under-resourced, overworked, and poor management. Ideally, you want to work in a place where the work you can do meets your ethical standards (or you are fine with the trade offs/triaging you may need to do) and your supervisors help you navigate the system.

[Anonymous User]

To the OP or anyone else who knows about FPDs: what is the background check process like?

[Anonymous User]

Recently landed AFD job. Background is biglaw/district court clerkship. Was curious what I should do to prepare. There'll probably be a huge learning curve regardless of what I do, but I'd like to be proactive.

[Anonymous User]

AFPD here. Background check process seemed like any other job? Idk, nothing special. You don't need clearance or anything as far as I'm aware?

I was BL/clerk and then went AFPD. Certainly was a big learning curve, but after 6 months or so I started to get the swing of things. Make sure to follow an attorney in your office some. They'll start you off on supervised release cases and move you up to indicted cases. Learn the sentencing guidelines and make sure, at first, another attorney helps you with enhancements or cross references. Always tell your clients you're giving them your best guess, but ultimately y'all won't fully know till after the PSR, and even then, it's all up to judge.

Don't take your work home with you. Don't abuse drinking. Don't fight the AUSAs on everything. Remember, you'll work with these folks on future cases, so you don't want to burn bridges also you need to. Fuck probation. But same advice for them (in our district, they are more of cops than cops or prosecutors).

Your job is an advocate and to help guide your clients. You'll probs only have 1-3 trials and you'll be doing a lot of sentencing work and motions practice. Again, brush up on those guidelines!

[Anonymous User]

The background check is pretty minimal. For my office (which is an FDO and part of the courts, unlike community defender offices that are independent nonprofits), we just had the same fingerprint and background check you get for a clerkship. It's not at all like what AUSAs go through. The only exception might be after you're hired and you get assigned a case with classified discovery. Then you might need a security clearance. But those cases are quite rare, and in my office at least it wouldn't be a big deal if you couldn't get a clearance. The case would just be reassigned.

[Anonymous User]

You'll probs only have 1-3 trials and you'll be doing a lot of sentencing work and motions practice. Again, brush up on those guidelines!

When you say "1-3 trials," are you talking annually?

Also, what is the proper nomenclature? Is it "Assistant Federal Defender" or "Assistant Federal Public Defender?" Or does it differ depending on your district?