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Newport News public defender office briefs council on caseload, staffing and outreach plans
Summary
Chief Public Defender Beau Webb outlined the office’s mission, staffing, state oversight and recent city pay supplements; staff described a new peer navigator, mitigation specialist, and proposals for school outreach and community partnership programs.
The Newport News Office of the Public Defender briefed the City Council on Oct. 14 about its role in the criminal justice system, recent staffing changes and partnership ideas for outreach and recidivism reduction.
Chief Public Defender Beau Webb told the council he has led the office for nearly 20 years and said the office was established in 2005. He said the office is a state entity under the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and that, for the first time this fiscal year, Newport News city council approved city income supplements for public defender staff. Webb said that supplement helped the office hire three additional attorneys and move “so close to being fully staffed for the first time since the middle of the pandemic.”
"I have a very dedicated and committed staff that do the work that we do, representing the citizens of Newport News who are charged with criminal offenses, who are unable to financially afford legal representation," Webb said.
Jessica Crossett, chief deputy public defender, described the office’s staffing and functions. She said the office has 20 attorney positions authorized by the state (19 filled at the time of the briefing), plus an actual paralegal, legal assistants, an office manager, two investigators, a mitigation specialist (an office social worker who connects clients to treatment and services) and a new peer navigator funded through a partnership with Recovery Corps, an AmeriCorps program.
Crossett explained that the office represents indigent adults and children from initial appointment through appeals when necessary, and that attorneys frequently aim to secure release from jail, arrange safe placements for youth, pursue alternatives to incarceration and, where appropriate, mitigate the consequences of conviction.
Andrew (senior management team member) described outreach proposals, including expanding STARS program visits that take small groups of high school students through mock trials and panels to demystify the criminal justice system. He said the office is willing to pilot presentations at additional high schools in collaboration with the Commonwealth’s attorney’s office and the police department.
Council members thanked the office and signaled interest in supporting further community partnerships. Councilman Coleman, chair of the public safety committee, said the office’s work demonstrates a shift from earlier decades and invited the public defender’s participation in the committee.
No council action was taken; the session was informational and focused on staffing, current services, and potential school and community outreach pilots.
