Welcome to the Public Defender Commission

Since 1989, the Indiana Public Defender Commission has served to recommend standards for indigent defense to improve the quality of public defenders in both death penalty and non-capital cases. The Commission is the standards and county funding arm of the three organizations that work to improve public defense throughout the state of Indiana. Please look below to see which service can help you with your request. Thank you for visiting our website!

News and Announcements

New Salary Schedule for Chief PDs and Chief Deputy PDs Approved by Commission:

 

The State Budget Agency has increased all judicial and prosecutorial state-paid salaries by 3.3%, effective 7/1/2020.  The Commission requires parity for Chief and Chief Deputy PDs with the prosecutor salaries. However, the new salaries are not required to be effective until 1/1/2021 to allow for counties to budget for the adjustment.

                                                            Current                        New (eff. 1/1/2021)

Full Time Chief PD                             $151,137                     $156,125

Part Time Chief PD (.66)                    $99,750                       $103,043

Part Time Chief PD (.6)                      $90,682                       $93,675

Full Time Chief Deputy                       $113,353                     $117,094

Part Time Chief Deputy (.66)              $74,813                       $77,282

Part Time Chief Deputy (.6)                $68,012                       $70,256

 

Upcoming 2020 Commission Meeting Dates: 

• September 23, 2020 at 2 PM EST - A brief executive session may be held beginning at 2 PM pursuant to I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1 (b)(9), followed by the regularly scheduled meeting.
• December 16, 2020 at 2 PM EST - A brief executive session may be held beginning at 2 PM pursuant to I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1 (b)(9), followed by the regularly scheduled meeting.

2020 Quarterly Requests for Reimbursement due dates: Updated Forms Released

Please visit our Forms page and download the latest versions of the Request for Reimbursement forms. Additional resources and worksheets are available on the Reimbursement Request page. 

• 2nd Quarter 2020 due August 14, 2020
• 3rd Quarter 2020 due November 14, 2020

General information on Reimbursement Requests (updated 8/28/18)

The Commission has released the 2018-2019 Annual Report. Click HERE to read it. 

Complaint About a Judicial Officer

If you have a complaint about your public defender, please contact the local Chief Public Defender or head of your local Public Defender Board to report the issues. If you feel the attorney violated their Rules of Professional Conduct you should contact the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission to formally file your complaint. The Indiana Public Defender Commission cannot prosecute public defender misconduct.

If you believe your judge improperly denied you an attorney and your county receives Commission reimbursement please contact us.  If you believe your judge has violated the Code of Judicial Conduct, you should contact the Judicial Qualifications Commission to file a complaint.