aDaYintheLifeofthecooatthePuBLicDefenDer ’ Soffice
Government lawyers Section Chairs : AlexaCline — OfficeoftheStateAttorney & ChristianKatchuk — 13thJudicialCircuitCourt
whatistomostpeoplejust anothertragicnewsstory , tome isournexthigh-profilecaseand aclientwithemergentneeds .
My position as Chief Operations Officer for the Hillsborough County Public Defender ’ s Office is dynamic , challenging , and gratifying . Although I am second in command to our elected Public Defender , I am primarily a servant of our staff , clients , and community . My title is Chief Operations Officer instead of Chief Assistant Public Defender because I oversee all areas of the office , not just our attorneys . No two days are ever the same .
On a good day , I start off in the courtrooms , checking on our attorneys , answering their questions , helping solve our clients ’ problems , interacting with judges , and then moving on to the next one . We have a staff of roughly
200 , each of whom presents their own unique challenges . My position sometimes carries me beyond their work and into their personal tragedies to assist however I can . My best days are when I am in a jury trial . This year I tried a homicide case and a sexual battery case , on top of performing my
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