Mission Statement
The Mission Of The Metropolitan Public Defender’s Office is To Provide Zealous Representation and To Fight For Equal Justice for The Indigent Accused.
Vision Statement
The Vision of the Metropolitan Public Defender’s Office is that every client will receive high quality and zealous representation without regard to their economic or social situation and without regard to the nature of the accusations against them.
The Public Defender’s Credo
I am a Public Defender
I am the guardian of the presumption of innocence, due process and fair trial.
To me is entrusted the preservation of those sacred principles.
I will promulgate them with courtesy and respect but not with obsequiousness and not with fear.
For I am partisan; I am counsel for the defense.
Let none who oppose me forget that
With every fibre of my being I will fight for my clients.
My clients are the indigent accused,
They are the lonely, the friendless.
My voice will be raised in their defense.
I will resolve all doubt in their favor.
This will be my credo; this and the Golden Rule.
I will seek acclaim and approval only from my own conscience.
And upon my death, if there are a few lonely people who have benefited, my efforts will not have been in vain.
Jim Doherty Public Defender Chicago, Illinois