Deputy Public Defender

Job Description:

Deputy Public Defender

Description

Introduction

T HIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted online.

DESCRIPTION

THE DEPARTMENT

The Alameda County Public Defender's Office provides the highest quality of indigent criminal defense by vigorously advocating for the rights of individuals facing criminal charges in adult and juvenile court. Our mission is to zealously protect and defend the rights of clients through compassionate and inspired legal representation of the highest quality, in pursuit of a fair and unbiased system of justice for all. The Alameda County Office is one of the oldest Public Defender offices in the nation, chartered in 1927 by Earl Warren who later became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Today, our team of more than 100 attorneys, 18 investigators and 40 support staff handle approximately 30,000 cases per year providing innovative, holistic defense services for Alameda County residents. In 2012, the office was named the "Best Law Firm" in the East Bay by the Alameda County Bar Association.

For additional info, please visit : Alameda County Public Defenders

THE POSITION:

Deputy Public Defender is the general litigation attorney class. By the assignment of the Public Defender, Deputy Public Defenders are the attorneys for defendants in criminal and juvenile cases, and represent litigants in certain civil proceedings, as appointed to or accepted by the Public Defender. Deputy Public Defenders perform all related legal work as required and authorized by the Public Defender.

The Deputy Public Defender class is found only in the Public Defender's Department.

For more detailed information about the job classification, visit: Deputy Public Defender (#3125)

IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

• Demonstrated expertise and knowledge of the philosophy and practice of public defense, laws, ethics and policies of the Public Defender’s Office and scope and character of California Statutory and constitutional law.
• Strong ability to identify and understand complex legal problems and concepts, apply logical thinking and methods to gathering and analyzing evidence and information.
• Outstanding organizational skills with the demonstrated ability to independently prioritize and manage multiple on-going cases, as well as the ability to provide status updates on cases and hearings at a moment’s notice.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to communicate with diverse individuals and proven experience in delivering legal arguments that are effective in both written and oral form.
• Consider and anticipate multiple factors and the potential consequences when making decisions.
• Consistently maintain effectiveness when experiencing change in work responsibilities, priorities, and deadlines and take prompt action to accomplish objectives.
• Proven ability to remain flexible, open, and positive while handling needs of Clients and demands of the Court.
• Foster and maintain effective client relationships to ensure that all clients’ needs are thoroughly identified, properly addressed, and handled in a fair and equitable manner consistent with the principles and practices of the Public Defender’s Office.
• Ability to litigate complex and serious felonies.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

1. Current active membership and good standing with the State Bar of California.

2. Valid California motor vehicle operator's license.

EXPERIENCE:

Either

The equivalent of 24 months of full-time experience in the class of Associate Deputy Public Defender in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or

The equivalent of 24 months’ full-time experience in the practice of criminal law, and demonstrated competence in the handling of all phases of felony cases, including substantial felony trial experience. Substantial felony trial experience is deemed to include the trial to verdict of at least three felonies for which the possible penalty exceeds seven years.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• Philosophy and practice of public defense in the United States.
• Laws, ethics, and policies governing the Public Defender's Office.
• Legal principles and procedures followed in the handling of criminal and juvenile cases, including rules of evidence, trial litigation, and appellate procedure.
• Scope and character of California statutory and constitutional law.
• Legal source materials.
• Principles of training and supervision.

Abilities:

• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action.
• Gather, analyze, and apply legal data and evidence.
• Present legal arguments effectively in oral and written form.
• Inspire confidence in clients and work effectively with colleagues and representatives of other agencies.
• Handle legal correspondence and procedures with tact and accuracy.
• Appropriate decision making.
• Interpersonal sensitivity.
• Flexibility.
• Performance in a stressful environment.
• Defend felony cases at the pretrial and jury trial level, including advanced litigation techniques and preservation of the trial record by making timely and appropriate trial objections and motions, and demonstrated knowledge of and facility in addressing difficult sentencing issues.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:
A review of applicants' application to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to determine the best qualified. Those candidates considered the best qualified will move on to the final step in the examination process. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.
Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.

The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT PLAN:

Deadline for Filing:

5:00:00 PM, Friday, August 7, 2026

Review of Minimum Qualifications:

Friday, August 14, 2026
Screening for the Best-Qualified:

Week of September 11, 2026
Virtual Civil Service Oral Examination:

Week of September 21, 2026

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN:
Departmental Hiring Interviews: October 2026

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement no later than the recruitment filing deadline . If this is a continuous open recruitment without a filing deadline, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement within ten (10) business days of submitting your application . Unless your disability is readily apparent (for example, you use a wheelchair and need wheelchair-accessible spaces), Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov.

BENEFITS

The County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall wellbeing. These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical - HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental - HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Long-Term Care, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 12 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1 st United Services Credit Union

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement. This provides a summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

**Employees in management-designated classifications may be entitled to management paid leave. Refer to the applicable MOU or Salary Ordinance for more information.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com, @acgov.org, [email protected] and [email protected] as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box [email protected] and [email protected] are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/ . You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Rosario Jones | Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-891-5737 | Email: [email protected]
https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

Disaster Service Worker

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.

Closing Date/Time: 8/7/2026 5:00:00 PM

Salary:

$98.53 - $136.35/hour;$204,942.40 - $283,608.00/year