Public Defender

The Second Judicial Circuit has a new public defender. Jessica Yeary was sworn in Tuesday.

With more than 90,000 votes in, Jessica Yeary looks poised to win the public defenders’ race in the second judicial circuit. She has more than 60% of the vote, giving a clear edge over incumbent Andy Thomas. Yeary says she’s ready to get to work.

Florida lawmakers are working to create a centralized location for criminal justice data statewide. As the head of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Chris…

If you can’t afford a lawyer in Florida, as in the rest of the country, you get assigned one – often a public defender. But when public defenders go up…

Should public defenders be able to excuse themselves from future cases if their current case load is too high? And should criminal defendants have the…