The Office of State Public Defender (OSPD) was established in 2011 to continue the work of Capital Defense (est. 2001), Appeals (est. 2007) and Training (est. 2008) under one umbrella and to develop proposals for a statewide public defense system. In 2016 family defense in youth court protection matters was added to our responsibilities. The 2024 Legislature authorized the establishment of a youth defender program.
André de Gruy serves as State Defender. George Holmes continues as Appeals director, a job he has held since the merger. Erin Briggs, after over a decade as appellate defender, became Training director in April, 2021. Jennifer Morgan joined our staff as the first Family Defense Program Manager on June 1, 2021. Kelsey Rushing, after a decade on the Capital Defense program, became the Capital Defense director in June 2021.