Our Mission

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland represents individuals facing federal criminal charges who cannot afford to retain private counsel.  We have offices in both Baltimore and Greenbelt, and our offices include lawyers, on-staff investigators, social workers and paralegals who work as a team on our clients’ cases.

We handle misdemeanor and felony cases involving all types of federal offenses.  The court appoints us to represent clients at all phases of the federal criminal process, including prior to indictment when the client has reason to believe he or she is the target of a federal criminal investigation but has not yet been indicted.  Most often we are appointed to represent individuals at their initial appearances in U.S. District Court, the first appearance in court on pending charges.  We also represent individuals on direct appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.  The court also appoints us to handle some post-conviction petitions filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.