Welcome to the Louisiana Office of the State Public Defender
Protecting Constitutional Rights
Louisiana’s public defense system provides constitutionally required representation, protects public safety by preventing wrongful convictions, and safeguards due process and constitutional rights. The Office of the State Public Defender is the Louisiana state agency tasked with providing oversight and supervision to the 42 District Offices of the Public Defender and 7 contract programs who provide representation to indigent person’s accused of a crime throughout the state. Public defenders represent adult indigent defendants in all aspects of criminal representation except for parole. Public defenders also represent juveniles in delinquency matters and parents in Child in Need of Care (CINC) proceedings.
Additionally, the State Public Defender advocates for the creation of stable funding mechanisms that are not reliant on Conviction and User Fees for survival, as well as the re-alignment of the criminal justice system into a system that Louisiana can afford. De-emphasizing incarceration first models to address the state’s mental health and substance abuse crises and elimination of the death penalty will benefit not only the public defense system, but also the entire Louisiana citizenry in many profound ways.
Executive Staff
Following the March 2024 reformation of Louisiana’s system of public defense, which led to the creation of the Office of the State Public Defender, Rémy Voisin Starns was appointed by Governor Jeff Landry to serve as the State Public Defender.
Mr. Starns, who had been State Public Defender of the Louisiana Public Defender Board since January 2020, became the first state public defender under this new system. As the State Public Defender, Mr. Starns oversees the entire 64-parish public defense system in Louisiana which represents almost 88% of all persons accused of crimes statewide.
Locate an Office
Use the field below to locate an office in your parish or city.
Louisiana’s Public Defense System by the Numbers
2023 Charge Attributes
146,744
indigent defendants represented by a Public Defender in 2023
887
attorneys representing indigent defendants in 2023