You have navigated to this page without clicking a link. In this situation the page does not know what information you were requesting. Please select the information you want from the list below.

• Employment Opportunities
• Public Records Request

Employment Opportunities

Application Process

If you are interested in working for the Public Defender's Office as a paid employee, please follow the links below:

1. Current job listings can be viewed at http://jobs.myflorida.com
2. Download and complete Employment Application
3. You will be contacted by a member of our HR Department

If you would like to submit a resume for a position we haven't listed please click here to email our HR department and inform them of your interest. Please include your resume and the required forms listed above.

Position Descriptions for Paid Employees:

Assistant Public Defender Position Description

Communications Assistant Position Description

Investigations Position Description

Legal Assistant Position Description

Social Worker Position Description

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

---

Volunteers and Internships

If you wish to volunteer or intern with the Public Defender's Office, please follow these steps:

1. Download and complete the required forms:
1. Volunteer/Intern Registration Form
2. ADA Release Form -- click on your location (Lee Collier Charlotte Hendry)
3. Volunteer Confidentiality Certification
4. Worker's Compensation Memorandum
2. Click here to email our HR Department of your interest, resume and required forms.
3. You will be contacted shortly by a member of our staff.

For more information about internships, click here.

---

General Information

The 20th Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office is one of Florida's offices established for the representation of persons charged with criminal law violations. The office's practice consists of criminal defense litigation in cases involving juvenile, misdemeanor, felony and capital felony offenses, and appeals. This office is committed to meeting the needs of its clients. Only those individuals who are dedicated to providing the finest legal representation, and who recognize the importance of community service involvement, should apply.

This office staffs more than 120 employees: attorneys, legal assistants, investigators, customer service technicians, disposition specialists, and other support staff.

The 20th Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office is an equal opportunity employer.

---

Attorneys

We are seeking attorneys who are sincerely interested in providing the best possible legal representation for our clients. Additionally, all attorneys are urged to become involved in service to the community and participate in pro bono projects throughout the year. Only those individuals who are dedicated to providing the finest legal representation, and who recognize the importance of community service involvement, should apply.

---

Support Service Employees

We are seeking career-minded individuals who are interested in a challenging position in a fast-paced law firm. Prior legal experience is desirable, and strong computer skills are required; experience in the legal field is a bonus. These positions require frequent interaction with clients and the general public. Desirable applicants are detail-oriented, motivated, self-starters.

---

Benefits

State employee benefits include group health and life insurance and retirement benefits. Vacation and sick time are accumulated monthly. There are several paid holidays annually, and each employee is also entitled to an additional personal holiday on the date of his or her choice.

---

Hiring Process

To be considered for a position with the Public Defender's Office you must complete the application process found on this site. Candidates are evaluated based on background, organizational fit, and career potential.

---

Notification Procedure

Employment offers are personally communicated, and an employment letter is sent setting forth the expectations of the position.

---

Hiring Criteria

The Public Defender's Office is seeking motivated and experienced applicants with previous legal experience. Applicants must be capable of managing a demanding caseload. A recognition of the importance of community service, as previously described, is essential. The office is committed to a policy of equal opportunity, without regard to age, gender, color, race, national origin, religious persuasion, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation that does not prohibit performance of essential job functions, or disability. We observe laws regarding Veteran's Status.

Public Record Requests

What is a Public Record?

Public Records are documents, papers, letters, maps, books, audio and video tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by the Department, which are used to perpetuate, communicate or formalize knowledge.

---

Requests and Fulfillment

Public records held by the Office of the Public Defender 20th Judicial Circuit are available upon request for inspection or copying pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, and Article I, s. 24 of the State Constitution.

---

Time-line

Records are not always readily available and will have to be located, reviewed for exempt or confidential information, and redacted if necessary. As such, the time to fulfill a public records request will vary depending upon the particular record or records requested and the volume of the request. Department personnel are committed to fulfilling your request as quickly and efficiently as is reasonably possible.

---

Cost

Costs may apply to public records requests. For more information click here.

---

Making a Public Record Request

You can make your public record request in a variety of ways:

By E-Mail at publicrecordsrequest@pd20.org

Please leave some contact information so we can respond, and include as much detail as possible regarding the records you are requesting, including date ranges.

By Regular Mail to:

Department of Public Records
Office of the Public Defender 20th Judicial Circuit
Lee County Justice Center Annex
P.O. Drawer 1980 Fort Myers, FL 33901-1980

By E-Mail: PublicRecordsRequest@pd20.org

By Fax: (239) 533-1562

Cost Recovery Policy

Estimates: Upon receiving requests for public records, if applicable, the Office of the Public Defender may provide an itemized estimate to the person initiating the request. The estimate may include the hours required, the estimated service charge for extensive labor, and actual duplicating or other material costs. If upon receiving an initial estimate of charges a request is changed or otherwise limited in scope, the person initiating the request may be provided with a new estimate of charges.

Fee Guidelines - Special Service Charge: A special service charge may be imposed if the nature or volume of public records requested to be inspected or copied is such as to require extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by personnel of the agency involved, or both. Clerical or supervisory assistance includes searching for and or locating the requested record, reviewing for statutorily exempt information, deletion of statutorily exempt information, and preparing, copying the requested record(s). A special service charge may be warranted if the nature or volume of the public records requested to be inspected or copied requires more than 1 hour of agency resources or greater than 100 pages of documentation. The charge for clerical or supervisory resources might be no greater than the hourly rate, including benefits, of the lowest paid personnel capable of providing such services. In those cases where legal review is necessary, the charge may be at the lowest attorney rate (salary and benefits) employed by the Office of the Public Defender. When documents can be sent by e-mail, we may do so in the interest of efficiency and to minimize costs. In these cases we may only charge a service charge for extensive time. However, when a large volume of documents is requested and must therefore be placed on a CD or DVD, the costs of those materials might be recovered. If the record is readily available in electronic form, then we may copy onto CD or DVD, as needed. You may be charged for the actual costs of the disk, not for the time to copy the documents onto the media. If the cost for providing paper or electronic copies of records is less than $25.00, including postage and special service charges, the records may be provided at no charge as long as it is not cost-effective to collect such fees.

Collecting Recovered Costs: If fees are imposed for copies and/or the special service imposed, the requestor may be advised of estimated costs. Payment may be collected before documents are copied, reviewed, redacted, or otherwise processed for release if their production meets the threshold for extensive time or material costs. If the actual costs incurred are less than such payment as estimated, the overpayment may be refunded to the requestor. The requestor may be required to remit additional monies upon release of the documents to pay for any costs in excess of the estimate. In the event the requestor fails to remit additional monies to cover costs in excess of the deposit, the requested public records may not be released.

Material Costs: One-sided Copy: $ 0.15 per page Double-sided copy: $ 0.20 per page CD-ROM/DVD: $1.00 each Packaging and shipping charges: Estimated costs may be changed to reflect actual cost incurred.

Reducing Costs and Limiting Charges: Labor costs can be reduced significantly if requests include keywords as opposed to “all documents or e-mails.” Similarly, narrowing a request to certain individuals or divisions can greatly reduce the use of extensive labor. We may help direct you to free, online sources whenever possible. Consider refining your requests for documents to provide better results and reduce unnecessary or duplicative costs.