Public Defense Education
Orientation Manual for Assistant Public Defenders: Introduction
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To: New Assistant Public Defenders
From: Tom Maher, IDS Executive Director
Date: August 2015
Congratulations on your recent employment as an Assistant Public Defender and welcome to North Carolina’s indigent defense community. The work that you will do as an Assistant Public Defender is extremely important. You will perform the vital functions of representing the least powerful individuals in our society and protecting their rights against encroachment by a very powerful government. In many cases, you will be the only person in a position of authority who has treated your clients with respect and followed their express wishes. In some cases, you will also be the only impression they have of our court system and its promise of justice. Each of you is now part of the backbone of indigent defense in North Carolina, and I am confident that you will conduct yourselves with great professionalism and honor.
The IDS Office staff, and the Commission that oversees us, are here to support your work and to ensure that indigent people in North Carolina receive the best possible legal services. I encourage you to take advantage of the resources and support that IDS offers, from the excellent training programs we sponsor through the School of Government to the resources that are available on our website (www.ncids.org) to the numerous specialized listservs that we administer for defense counsel. I also hope you will take advantage of the resources that the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) offers to IDS employees, particularly through their Human Resources department.
This online manual is intended to orient you to the main resources that are available through IDS and AOC, and to some of the IDS policies and procedures that will impact you. The IDS staff is grateful to Alyson Grine, Defender Educator at the School of Government, for her work compiling and organizing these materials for you. If you have suggestions on ways to improve this orientation manual for future Assistant Public Defenders, please let her know. If you have suggestions for additional steps that IDS can take to support you in your work, we are always open to hearing from the dedicated attorneys all over the State who work on the front lines.
On behalf of the IDS Office and the IDS Commission, I wish you all the best as you embark on your new legal career!