West Virginia Public Defender Services

The West Virginia Public Defender Services (PDS) is located in Charleston. This office employs 135 attorneys and 94 legal and support staff to handle their indigent caseload. The PDS funds all indigent defense for the State of West Virginia. Representation is provided by two methods: private attorneys on a court-appointed basis and full-time public defenders. PDS pays for each private attorney and other service providers for each case pursuant to a court order, following review by a Circuit Judge. Full-time Public Defenders are employees of a Public Defender Corporation organized at the Circuit Court level. These Corporations are separate legal entities but are funded by PDS. In addition to payment for legal services in criminal proceedings, Public Defender Services also pays for the representation of indigent parties in abuse and neglect, mental hygiene, and juvenile proceedings. Public Defender Services does not provide representation from this office directly except in a limited number of appellate matters. If the court has assigned a public defender to your case in West Virginia Public Defender Services, please contact the office head in the respective county for assistance.