Chief District Public Defender

District Defender Selection, District 9 (Rapides)

The Office of the State Public Defender seeks to contract with a District Defender to provide for the delivery and management of public defender services in the 9th Judicial District (Rapides Parish).

Send or deliver resumes / curriculum vitae 105 Yorktown Drive, Alexandria, LA 71303, Attn : Mark Vilar.  Deadline is close of business, Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

A local Selection Committee will review all interested applicants and make recommendations to the State Public Defender. The Selection Committee is comprised of three members : The State Public Defender selects the Committee’s Chairperson; the Chief Judge of the Judicial District and the Chairman of the Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board each select one of the two remaining members.  The selection committee shall consist of one attorney in good standing with the Louisiana State Bar Association, and two other registered voters, all of whom are domiciled in the judicial district for which the search is being conducted.

Within sixty (60) days of being formed the Selection Committee submits a list of at least three District Defender nominees, ranked by preference, to the State Public Defender. The Selection Committee will determine that minimal statutory qualifications are met, conduct any necessary interviews, and explore the candidate’s background in the areas of management, training, substantive and procedural criminal law, data management and ability to work with the State Public Defender.  The final Committee recommendations will be interviewed by the State Public Defender and staff.  The State Public Defender will make the final selection of the incoming District Defender and determine the appropriate salary.  All Chief District Defenders in Louisiana enter into an individual ‘Contract for Public Defender Services’ with the Office of the State Public Defender.

Compensation to be determined. Qualifications are as follows :

• Be a person of good character, honesty and integrity.
• Be a citizen of the United States.
• Be an attorney licensed to practice law in Louisiana with at least 5 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney.
• Following appointment, be a domiciliary of the judicial district or a contiguous judicial district and be registered to vote in that judicial district or contiguous district.
• Provide and / or maintain a district office, or appropriate office space, in each judicial district for meeting with clients and rendering public defender services.

The District Defender shall perform the services through District Defender’s own means and methods of work, subject to the requirements set forth in the Louisiana Public Defender Act, the Louisiana Administrative Code, the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, and other applicable rules, all as may be supplemented from time to time.

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