State of Maryland

An Assistant Public Defender V is the managerial level of trial Attorney work at headquarters or in a district of the Office of the Public Defender.  Employees in this classification supervise lower-level Assistant Public Defenders and Assistant Public Defender Supervisors engaged in providing eligible persons with legal counsel and services for criminal, juvenile, involuntary commitment and Children in Need of Assistance proceedings before the courts of the State.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from an Assistant District Public Defender or other higher-level Attorney.  Work is performed at various locations including jails, lock-up facilities, hospitals and courtrooms.

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.

Supervises lower-level Assistant Public Defenders;

Trains and directs lower-level Assistant Public Defenders in preparing cases and managing clients;

Reviews case files in order to determine the nature of the charges, and the factual and legal issues involved, and to plan defense strategies;

Represents Office of the Public Defender clients in all aspects of criminal, juvenile, involuntary commitment and Children in Need of Assistance proceedings before the courts of the State;

Engages in plea negotiations with Assistant State’s Attorneys and other opposing counsel and attends conferences with the court in an attempt to resolve issues before trial;

Counsels and advises clients regarding theories of possible defense, trial factors and procedures, rights, alternatives to incarceration, rehabilitation services, appeal rights and procedures and other matters of law;

May prepare and conduct seminars and formal training for other Attorneys;

May coordinate panel attorney services in cases where there is conflict of interest;

Performs other related duties.

Class Descriptions 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.

Class Descriptions provide information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work, General Requirements and Acknowledgements.  The Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities; Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency.

This is a Management Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Management Service positions.

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.