Definition of public defender
: a lawyer usually holding public office whose duty is to defend accused persons unable to pay for legal assistance
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Recent Examples of public defender from the Web
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Jason and Kelly Cochran’s parents sat in the courtroom Wednesday morning as Kelly Cochran reviewed and signed her plea agreement with her public defender, Derla Gross.
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The video feeds were recorded last week, when an assistant public defender traveled to Haiti to set them up.
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Tejas Bhatt, a Hartford Democrat, is an assistant public defender.
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On Thursday, his public defender — who could not be reached for comment — entered a not guilty verdict on his behalf.
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In the Senate primary, the caucus endorsed Mohammed, an assistant public defender and former official of the county Democratic Party.
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Meanwhile, a judge rejected an attempt to remove Broward County prosecutors and its public defender from the Nikolas Cruz criminal case.
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In the Asberry case, his public defender used the delay in testing the 2008 rape kit to argue that some counts should be dropped.
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McGraw and his public defender couldn't be reached for comment in time for this story.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'public defender.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of public defender
1822
PUBLIC DEFENDER Defined for English Language Learners
public defender
Definition of public defender for English Language Learners
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: a lawyer who is paid by the government to defend people who are accused of a crime and are unable to pay for a private lawyer
Law Dictionary
public defender
legal Definition of public defender
: a lawyer usually holding public office who represents criminal defendants unable to pay for legal assistance
Learn More about public defender
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about public defender
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