Public Defenders work in the Office of the Public Defender and are employed by the VIDC.  Currently, we have over 300 Public Defenders throughout Virginia.  Each office handles trial and appellate cases and try cases in the General District, Juvenile & Domestic Relations, and Circuit Courts. All of our highly skilled attorneys must complete the VIDC Initial Certification process to accept court-appointments and must maintain their status thereafter by completing the required amount of legal education courses to renew their certification every 2 years.  Within their office, Public Defenders receive support from their Chief Public Defender and in-house defense team, which is composed of VIDC employed paralegals, investigators, mitigation specialists, legal assistants and office managers.

Private certified court-appointed counsel are private attorneys who have completed the VIDC Certification process in order to be considered for court-appointed cases and included on the Certified Counsel List. Private certified attorneys typically take court-appointed cases in addition to cases accepted through their private practice.  These attorneys are not employed by the VIDC, nor do they work in an Office of the Public Defender.  However, private certified attorneys are required to complete the same training and certification requirements as our Public Defenders.  Private certified attorneys are also required to comply with the VIDC Standards of Practice for Indigent Defense Counsel that apply to all of our Public Defenders.  VIDC does not manage compensation of private certified court-appointed counsel.  Per Code of Virginia § 19.2-163, counsel appointed to represent an indigent client accused in a criminal case shall be compensated for services on an hourly basis at a rate set by the Supreme Court of Virginia in a total amount not to exceed the amounts specified in the code.