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What is FPDA?

The Florida Public Defender Association (FPDA) is a nonprofit corporation whose members include 19 elected Public Defenders and nearly 2000 employees of public defender offices throughout Florida. The association exists to assist the Public Defenders to fulfill their constitutional duty to ensure equal justice for all.

The FPDA does not employ Assistant Public Defenders or Public Defenders. They are employed by the State of Florida. The Florida Public Defender Association does not provide legal representation or advice to individuals to answer legal questions. For legal advice or assistance on any open legal matters in which the Public Defender was appointed to represent you, you should inquire further with that Public Defender’s Office.

In addition, the FPDA does not supervise or manage individual Public Defender’s Offices. As a Constitutional Officer, each elected Public Defender decides how to operate the Circuit offices. If you have concerns or questions about how you are being represented, please contact the appropriate Public Defender.

NOTE: No Public Defenders work from this office. If you need information or have questions about a particular case, please contact the appropriate Office of the Public Defender from the list below. Click the link at the bottom of the page for the complete list of Public Defenders or visit our Home page.

Our Vision

Guaranteed equal justice for all.

Our Mission

To secure an equitable justice system and ensure high quality legal representation for people facing loss of liberty through education/training provided statewide to attorneys and at a legislative level.

Our Common Principles

FPDA is community of Public Defenders united around the following common priorities and principles:

  • The Association shall work to ensure a justice system that is just, fair, and merciful;
  • The Public Defenders of Florida shall work to ensure that each circuit has the resources necessary to fulfill our constitutional mission of providing competent and effective representation of indigent persons;
  • Caseload levels for attorneys should be reasonable; and
  • All Assistant Public Defenders and staff should have the ability and acumen to provide competent and ethical representation.

Our Key Priorities

  • To increase and stabilize funding for the Florida Public Defenders in order to improve the quality of indigent defense services.
  • To engage and serve our members by providing education and services promoting the professional growth of the Public Defenders and their staff.
  • To advocate for improvement to our justice system.
  • To promote awareness of the Florida Public Defenders and strengthen alliances to accomplish our mission.
  • To continue building and strengthening the organization for the future.