Public Defender Attorney I

Richland County Government•Denver, CO

8d•Onsite

About The Position

This position represents indigent adults and juveniles charged with less serious criminal offenses in Richland County. This position may handle a misdemeanor case load within the City of Columbia Municipal Court or Richland County Magistrate Court; investigates cases; contacts clients; conducts meetings with clients, witnesses, law enforcement and more; coordinates with social services as needed; reviews discovery; prepares for bench trials/jury trials/plea dates; and files and argues motions. This position operates within established legal and organizational guidelines while exercising independent judgment in case management.

Requirements

Juris Doctor.
No experience required.
Must possess a valid state driver’s license.
Must have a license to practice law in South Carolina.
Must possess and maintain current membership in the S.C. Bar Association.
Requires transportation to attend court hearings in other locations and to visit clients in jails and prisons.
Requires synthesizing or integrating analysis of data or information to discover facts or develop knowledge or interpretations; changes policies, procedures, or methodologies based on new facts, knowledge, or interpretations.
Requires interaction with clients, with clients’ families, with agency service providers, with court personnel, with the Solicitor’s Office, and with law enforcement; requires negotiating; and requires exchanging ideas, information, and opinions with others in an effort to arrive jointly at decisions, conclusions, or solutions. Requires client consultation in correctional and detention facilities.
Requires performing work involving the application of principles of logical thinking or legal practice to diagnose or define problems; collects data; solves abstract problems with widespread unit or organizational impact; and requires the ability to interpret and apply law and judicial decisions and prepare opinions, briefs, memoranda, and other documents.
Requires the ability to prepare motions, briefs, memoranda, and other documents in support of representation of individual clients with little to no supervision or oversight; requires the ability to formulate and make arguments to advance the interests of clients in court.
Requires using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and/or calculating ratios, rates, and percentages.
Requires reading and interpreting professional materials involving advanced bodies of knowledge related to law and other complex disciplines; writing extremely complex papers and reports; and speaking to high-level political, legal, or other such groups.
Requires using advanced professional-level work methods and practices in the analysis, coordination, or interpretation of work of a professional, legal, or managerial nature; requires the ability to formulate important recommendations or make technical decisions that have an organization-wide impact; and requires sustained, intense concentration for accurate results and continuous exposure to sustained, unusual pressure.
Requires using MS Office Suite programs and knowledge and skills in general computer and web-based database systems.
Responsible for actions of others, requiring making decisions affecting co-workers, clients or others in the general public; works in a moderately fluid environment with guidelines and rules, but with frequent variations from the routine.
The work is sedentary work which requires the person in this position to occasionally exert up to 10 pounds of force to grasp, lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound.
Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
Manual Dexterity: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.
Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. Shouting in order to be heard above ambient noise level.
Visual Acuity: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Including color, depth perception, and field vision.
Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Nice To Haves

Experience in criminal law preferred.

Responsibilities

Prepares and argues criminal cases in court.
Prepares and argues motions; negotiates plea bargains on behalf of criminally charged clients; represents clients at preliminary hearings; participates in case investigations including crime scene investigations; interviews witnesses and victims; reviews and examines evidence; reviews discovery; researches and evaluates legal issues; prepares witnesses for trial; prepares for trials; makes court appearances; selects juries; etc.
Receives and responds to client or public inquiries, concerns, and complaints in areas of responsibility.
Drafts own legal documents with little to no supervision or oversight.
Meets with clients in the courthouse, at jails, and at correctional or detention facilities; meets with partner agencies.
Plans and gives presentations to various community civic organizations as requested.
Maintains files and notes related to representation.
Attends professional conferences, training, seminars, workshops, etc., as necessary to maintain job knowledge and skills.
Contributes to internal and external trainings.
Completion of SCCID training PD 101, 102, and 103.
Handles trials with senior supervision.
Performs other duties as assigned.