Public Defender

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The City of Columbus is seeking qualified candidates to fill the position of PUBLIC DEFENDER. The Public Defender represents indigent defendants accused of criminal violations in the phases of criminal defense. The Municipal Public Defender shall be an attorney-at-Law of this State in good standing, and serves at the will and pleasure of the Mayor and City Council. The Municipal Public Defender need not reside in the municipality where he/she performs Public Defending work, but residency is preferred.

The successful applicant will review facts and circumstances of assigned cases to determine appropriate action; research statutory and case laws to prepare defense of assigned defendant’s cases; reviews police reports and other pertinent information concerning defendant’s cases; confer with Municipal Prosecutor and Judge to determine and define legal issues and prepares necessary documents in preparation of court hearings.

Minimum requirements include Graduation from a School of Law Accredited by the American Bar Association with a Juris Doctorate Degree; a minimum of three (3) years of experience handling criminal matters, and Membership in good standing in the Mississippi State Bar Association.

Applications and detailed Resumes` will be accepted until further and may be mailed to P. O. Box 1408, Columbus, MS 39703 or delivered to the City’s Human Resources Office, 523 Main Street, 2nd Floor or may be completed by visiting the city’s website cityofcolumbusms.gov . Interested applicants may contact Pat Mitchell at pmitchell,  for a hard copy application and a detailed job description.

The City of Columbus is an Equal Opportunity Employer.