On August 10, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to eliminate the County of Los Angeles’ long-standing citizenship requirement for its department heads while also giving each department head the authority to waive such requirements for positions within their respective departments, including deputy public defenders.
Throughout 107 years of indigent defense within the County of Los Angeles, the Public Defender has been prevented from hiring attorneys because of citizenship and voting-registration requirements, even though immigrant communities comprise one-third of the county’s population. Along with the Board, Public Defender Ricardo Garcia has advocated for waiving citizenship and voting-registration requirements as a condition of employment with Los Angeles County.
The County of Los Angeles was first in the nation to incorporate an indigent defense department. In the past five decades, the role of the Public Defender has continued to expand exponentially to include advocating in the arenas of mental health, immigration, diversion and reentry, post-conviction and re-entry, homeless outreach, and many other forms of holistic representation.
The Public Defender plays a critical public service role in the lives of LA County’s indigent defendants. It is essential that the hiring process allows for the best and most diverse candidates. Non-citizen attorneys with diverse backgrounds, specialized training, and a license to practice law from the California State Bar are currently removed from the pool of eligible candidates, even though moral character determinations are made by the State Bar. This historic shift enables the Public Defender to increase the number of talented and diverse applicants to select from, which will enhance the county’s legal representation services and accurately reflect the county’s values of inclusivity and diversity.