Defender Association of Philadelphia

Legal services in Philadelphia, PA

Address

1441 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA, 19102

Phone

(215) 568-3190

Website

phillydefenders.org

About Defender Association of Philadelphia

A nonprofit public defender office providing legal representation to adults and juveniles in Philadelphia state courts, at civil and criminal mental health hearings, and as child advocates for children with open dependency petitions. Services extend beyond the courtroom to adult and juvenile record expungement, probation termination, immigration law, social services, and reentry support, with a Police Accountability Unit and a Driving Equality dashboard tracking system data. Attorneys work alongside social workers, paralegals, mitigation specialists, and investigators on a team of more than 500, and are barred from private practice or partisan political activity. The office also pushes for legislation and reforms aimed at fairer outcomes in the criminal legal system.

Created in 1934 as a nonprofit corporation by a group of Philadelphia lawyers committed to high-quality legal services for indigent criminal defendants. After the Supreme Court's 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright established the right to counsel, the organization took on the role of public defender for Philadelphia. Its attorneys now represent more than 70 percent of defendants in adult and juvenile state courts in the city.

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