What this office does
The Public Defender's office represents criminal defendants in the 11th Judicial Circuit who cannot afford private counsel, a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The office is organized into divisions covering circuit court felonies, county court misdemeanors and criminal traffic cases, appeals, children's delinquency and dependency cases, and a behavioral health division that handles Baker Act, drug court, mental health court, and veterans' treatment court matters. It handles roughly 75,000 cases a year with a staff of about 400, including around 200 attorneys.
How the office works
Like the State Attorney, the Public Defender is a state constitutional office elected separately for each judicial circuit rather than one of the five county offices created by Amendment 10. The Public Defender serves a four-year term representing the same 11th Judicial Circuit area as Miami-Dade County, and the office operates independently of both the courts and the State Attorney's office it faces in criminal cases.
Current officeholder
Carlos J. Martinez, a Democrat, has served as Public Defender since first winning election in 2008 and was sworn in for a fifth consecutive term in 2025 after running unopposed in November 2024. He is the first Cuban-American Public Defender and, as of his most recent term, the only elected Hispanic public defender in the United States.
Official Public Defender's Office website ↗