State of Maryland

A Public Defender Investigator I is the intermediate level of work performing investigations for the Public Defender.  Employees in this classification conduct investigations to develop, gather, or verify information for the defense of arrested and/or accused persons primarily using the telephone from the office.  Employees in this classification interview the accused to obtain their side of the story, investigate allegations, follow through on leads and utilize all available means in order to develop evidence for the defense.  The work of this classification is regulated by statutes and departmental procedures and rules; however, there is considerable latitude for the performance of the duties.  Employees in this classification have frequent daily contacts with persons at all social levels, in diverse occupational areas and imagination and persistence may be necessary to locate witnesses, to obtain their testimony, and to develop all facts.  Employees in this classification may be required to appear in court as  witnesses. Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive moderate supervision through the close review of reports and recommendations by the Chief or Assistant Chief Investigator, an administrative official or Public Defender attorney.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Public Defender Investigator I and the Public Defender Investigator II are differentiated on the basis of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The Public Defender Investigator I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending upon the complexity of the specific duties being performed.  The Public Defender Investigator II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Investigates allegations of criminal conduct;

Interviews arrested persons;

Visits residences and places of employment and conducts interviews under varied circumstances;

Prepares and submits reports of findings;

Cooperates with Public Defenders and others involved in defending persons arrested or charged on criminal grounds;

Appears as a witness in court cases;

Makes detailed and accurate reports of investigations;

Locates reluctant or poorly identified witnesses and seeks their testimony;

Maintains record of cases investigated or of pending investigations;

Keeps current with developments in criminal law, law enforcement, and court procedure through pertinent literature;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of criminal court procedures;

Knowledge of general investigative techniques;

Knowledge of the elementary concepts of criminal law;

Knowledge of the elementary concepts of law enforcement procedures;

Knowledge of the introductory concepts of principles of penology, parole, probation, criminology, psychology and sociology;

Ability to conduct pre-trial and pre-sentence investigations;

Ability to prepare meaningful reports;

Ability to locate reluctant or poorly described witnesses;

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively;

Ability to deal with any situation with tact, diplomacy, understanding, fairness and good judgment;

Ability to conduct oneself in a professional manner at all times. 

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Three years of experience in general investigatory work, one year of which must have included investigative experience in law enforcement, court services, parole and probation, and/or public defender work.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute education at an accredited college or university, at the rate of 30 credit hours for one year of  experience, for up to two years of the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in Criminal Investigation classifications or Criminal Investigation specialty codes in the Inspection, Investigation, Enforcement, and Compliance field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required general experience.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.