Contra Costa Public Defender's (CCPD) Richmond office is located in the county’s western urban region, which lies along the Bay adjacent to the cities of Berkeley and Oakland. One of the country’s most diverse cities, Richmond offers a vibrant arts community, a beautiful waterfront and seriously good eats. The Contra Costa County Public Defender Office is committed to "vertical representation" of their clients. This means that each client is assigned one attorney who has sole responsibility for the client's case. The office strives to ensure that the substantive consultations, strategy development and in-court representation is provided by the one assigned attorney to the greatest extent possible. They also rotate attorneys among the different types of assignments so that all attorneys in our office will gain and share experiences in each practice area. Attorneys are responsible for all aspects of each case assigned to them, including preliminary hearings, motions, plea negotiations, and jury trials. Attorneys also file writs and interlocutory appeals from decisions in the Superior Court, and occasionally argue before the Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court.