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State official urges Davidson County to plan space as public defender expansion considered
Summary
Mary Pollard of North Carolina's Office of Indigent Defense Services told commissioners that Davidson County is part of a "legal desert" and that the state may push to create a public defender office for Judicial District 33 (Davidson and Davie counties) if local stakeholders back it; the county would be required by statute to provide office space and help with upfit costs, and staff estimated an 18-person district office in earlier modeling.
Mary Pollard, executive director of the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services, told the Davidson County Board of Commissioners on Thursday that the state is expanding public defender offices and would consider pushing for a Davidson–Davie district office if local stakeholders and the legislature support it.
"Davidson County right now does not have a public defender offices," Pollard said, describing the county's current reliance on private assigned counsel and broader statewide shortages that leave 48 counties classified as "legal deserts." She said a 2022 staffing estimate for the judicial district called for about 18 employees, including roughly 11 attorneys, and that the legislature must…
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