The Department of Public Defense (DPD) has four divisions, each one staffed and housed separately and employing public defenders able to provide legal services to our clients.  These four divisions handle about 90 percent of King County's public defense cases; the remainder go to the assigned counsel panel.

Cases are assigned to a division based upon the type of charge. Some divisions are only in certain courts or handle a particular case type. Clients are also screened to guard against conflicts with the divisions. Every effort is taken to avoid conflicts between attorneys and their clients. Attorneys are not permitted to represent a client who was a witness, victim, or co-defendant on a previous case the attorney represented.

If you have been assigned to a division by a DPD screener, please wait four business days from the date of screening and then call the division to find out the name of your attorney. If you don't know to which division you were assigned, please call DPD at 206-296-7662.

Please note: These four divisions were nonprofit law firms before they became part of the Department of Public Defense as a result of a lawsuit in July 2013. Their division names are the same (or nearly so) as the ones they had when they were nonprofits.