The media and popular culture often portray public defenders and other court-appointed attorneys as inexperienced, overworked, and uncaring but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Public defenders and other-court appointed attorneys have many advantages over private-pay attorneys. First, they frequently have a wider knowledge base to draw from by working with fellow public defenders in large offices sharing information instead of recreating the wheel on every case. Moreover, public defender (PD) offices are permanently and strategically located across Iowa ensuring that attorneys know the local judges and prosecutors, establishing solid working relationships that they can call upon. While it is true that public defenders have higher case loads than their private bar counterparts, this means they have the legal and trial experience to learn and grow. While a small private bar practice may never handle a Class A felony case, a single public defender office may handle five or more homicide cases at a time. In doing so, they know the experts to call upon, the questions to ask, and the evidence to focus on moy closely.

The Public Defenders Association is a 501(c)(6) tax exempt business association that is entirely separate from Iowa’s Office of the State Public Defender.

The annual conference is usually held in early summer at the same time as Iowa’s judicial conference.