Criminal Defense Training in the South

Are you interested in indigent criminal defense practice in the south? The Southern Public Defender Training Center (SPDTC) is an organization committed to providing training to new public defenders throughout the south. SPDTC offers a three-year training curriculum designed for public defenders with less than three years of experience representing indigent defendants. This curriculum includes roughly 100 hours of instruction during the first year and 16-20 hours of instruction the following two years.

The SPDTC is designed to fill a void in training currently available to young public defenders. It takes into consideration a big-picture view of what public defenders need to better represent their clients. Rather than being limited to trial skills or discrete legal topics, the SPDTC offers a comprehensive curriculum designed specifically for public defenders. Training is designed to be interactive, making use of exercises requiring role play and simulation. With an average student to faculty member ratio of three to one, participants receive an extraordianry amount of individual attention in small group settings. The SPDTC offers a faculty of both current and former public defenders from around the country. These lawyers are all committed to the improvement of indigent defense representation and have been responsible for raising the standard of practice in jurisdictions nationwide.