State of Florida
PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, 2ND CIRCUIT- ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER - 21001895
State of Florida, Tallahassee, Florida, us, 32318
Working Title
PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, 2ND CIRCUIT- ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER - 21001895
Pay Plan Pub.DefndrsJAC PIB
Position Number 2103695
Salary $65,000.00 annually; commensurate with experience. A "Legal Trainee" position offers a starting salary of $46,350.00 pending bar results, rising to $65,000.00 upon admission to the Florida Bar.
Posting Closing Date 06/12/2026
The Work You Will Do The Office of the Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit is seeking qualified applicants for an Assistant Public Defender in the trial division.
Provide effective and professional legal representation to people charged with criminal offenses.
How You Will Grow The Office of the Public Defender provides in‑house training opportunities monthly, as well as opportunities to attend seminars and training offered by the National Association of Public Defense, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Florida Public Defender Association and more.
Pay Starting: $65,000.00 annually; commensurate with experience.
Minimum Qualifications Juris Doctorate
Applicants must be a member of and in good standing with the Florida Bar.
Applicants who have completed the Florida Bar examination and are awaiting results will also be considered. If hired prior to receiving bar results, this position, a "Legal Trainee", has a starting salary of $46,350.00. Upon being sworn into the Florida Bar, annual salary will increase to $65,000.00 along with promotion to an Assistant Public Defender position.
Legal Trainee candidates must provide a copy of their Registrant Clearance from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Rules of Evidence, and Florida Criminal Statutes.
Please note All fields in the Candidate Profile must be completed (an attached resume is not a substitution for the information required on the candidate profile).
Work history, duties and responsibilities, hours worked, supervisor, and formal education fields, etc. must be filled out to determine qualifications for this position.
Our Organization and Mission The Office of the Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit provides legal representation for indigent individuals accused of criminal offenses. The Second Judicial Circuit encompasses six Florida counties: Leon, Gadsden, Liberty, Jefferson, Wakulla and Franklin. मान. Each fiscal year, the Second Judicial Circuit represents indigent clients in both criminal trial and criminal appeal appointments, equating to nearly 16,500 criminal cases for six (6) Florida counties and over 1,100 cases on appeal for the 32 counties that make up the First District Court of Appeal. The Office of Public Defender was established in 1963 following the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, affirming the fundamental right to counsel for indigent citizens under the Sixth Amendment.
The Benefits of Working for the State of Florida The Office of the Public Defender is not an agency in the State Personnel System, but offers the same benefits as state agencies, including State Group Insurance and participation in the Florida Retirement System.
State benefits include:
Annual and sick leave benefits.
Paid holidays, one personal holiday each year.
State Group Insurance coverage options: health, life, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, and other supplemental insurance.
Retirement plan options, including employer contributions (for more information see
www.myfrs.com ).
Tuition waivers.
And more!
For a more complete list of benefits, visit
www.mybenefits.myflorida.com .
If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirementยอด™
FRS , please check with the FRS at 1-844-377-1888 on how your current benefits may be affected if re‑employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be cancelled, suspended, or deemed ineligible depending upon the date of your retirement.
The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.
Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority or the People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735) in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.
The State of Florida supports a Drug‑Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug‑Free Workplace Act.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Pay Plan Pub.DefndrsJAC PIB
Position Number 2103695
Salary $65,000.00 annually; commensurate with experience. A "Legal Trainee" position offers a starting salary of $46,350.00 pending bar results, rising to $65,000.00 upon admission to the Florida Bar.
Posting Closing Date 06/12/2026
The Work You Will Do The Office of the Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit is seeking qualified applicants for an Assistant Public Defender in the trial division.
Provide effective and professional legal representation to people charged with criminal offenses.
How You Will Grow The Office of the Public Defender provides in‑house training opportunities monthly, as well as opportunities to attend seminars and training offered by the National Association of Public Defense, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Florida Public Defender Association and more.
Pay Starting: $65,000.00 annually; commensurate with experience.
Minimum Qualifications Juris Doctorate
Applicants must be a member of and in good standing with the Florida Bar.
Applicants who have completed the Florida Bar examination and are awaiting results will also be considered. If hired prior to receiving bar results, this position, a "Legal Trainee", has a starting salary of $46,350.00. Upon being sworn into the Florida Bar, annual salary will increase to $65,000.00 along with promotion to an Assistant Public Defender position.
Legal Trainee candidates must provide a copy of their Registrant Clearance from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Rules of Evidence, and Florida Criminal Statutes.
Please note All fields in the Candidate Profile must be completed (an attached resume is not a substitution for the information required on the candidate profile).
Work history, duties and responsibilities, hours worked, supervisor, and formal education fields, etc. must be filled out to determine qualifications for this position.
Our Organization and Mission The Office of the Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit provides legal representation for indigent individuals accused of criminal offenses. The Second Judicial Circuit encompasses six Florida counties: Leon, Gadsden, Liberty, Jefferson, Wakulla and Franklin. मान. Each fiscal year, the Second Judicial Circuit represents indigent clients in both criminal trial and criminal appeal appointments, equating to nearly 16,500 criminal cases for six (6) Florida counties and over 1,100 cases on appeal for the 32 counties that make up the First District Court of Appeal. The Office of Public Defender was established in 1963 following the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, affirming the fundamental right to counsel for indigent citizens under the Sixth Amendment.
The Benefits of Working for the State of Florida The Office of the Public Defender is not an agency in the State Personnel System, but offers the same benefits as state agencies, including State Group Insurance and participation in the Florida Retirement System.
State benefits include:
Annual and sick leave benefits.
Paid holidays, one personal holiday each year.
State Group Insurance coverage options: health, life, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, and other supplemental insurance.
Retirement plan options, including employer contributions (for more information see
www.myfrs.com ).
Tuition waivers.
And more!
For a more complete list of benefits, visit
www.mybenefits.myflorida.com .
If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirementยอด™
FRS , please check with the FRS at 1-844-377-1888 on how your current benefits may be affected if re‑employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be cancelled, suspended, or deemed ineligible depending upon the date of your retirement.
The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.
Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority or the People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735) in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.
The State of Florida supports a Drug‑Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug‑Free Workplace Act.
#J-18808-Ljbffr