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Public Defender's Office
Public Defender's Office

Race Equity in Our Office

Race Equity

Race Equity for Public Defenders: Making the System Fairer

Race equity means making sure everyone has a fair chance to succeed, no matter their skin color. It's like having a race where everyone gets the same starting line and the same equipment, not where some people start further back or have broken gear. The goal isn’t to push the starting line backward, but instead to make sure everyone has what they need to be successful.  When a situation is equitable everyone benefits.

Public defenders are lawyers who defend people facing criminal charges who can't afford a lawyer. 85% of people charged with a crime in our county need a public defender. Many people who need public defenders come from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. This is because these communities are more likely to be:

  • Suspended or expelled from school
  • Stopped by the police
  • Arrested
  • Treated different than others in court, and
  • Sentenced to jail or prison

Three quarters of our adult clients and over 80% of our juvenile clients are BIPOC. It's like these communities are always running uphill in the criminal legal system. Public defenders fight for their clients and try to combat racial bias that makes the system unfair. That's why race equity is so important to public defenders - we are a race equity program. We fight to make sure everyone is treated fairly, no matter their background.

What is GARE?

  • GARE stands for the Government Alliance on Race and Equity. It’s a nationwide group of government agencies working together to make sure everyone has a fair chance to succeed in life, regardless of race. They focus on getting government to examine their own rules and practices to make sure they treat everyone equitably. They do this by partnering together to learn and support each other.
  • Through the Division of Equity and Social Justice, and their Department of Diversity, Equity, and Belong (ODEB) the County of Santa Clara adopted the GARE framework and formally became a GARE jurisdiction to advance our equity work.
  • Learn more about the Division of Equity and Social Justice and their Department of Diversity, Equity, and Belong (ODEB) in leading countywide equity work.

What Is Our Office’s Race Equity Mission Statement?

Empower all people to pursue a truly just criminal legal system, where plans for helping people succeed are co-created by the entire community. Reimagine how we hold someone accountable so that it’s fair and immune from institutional and systemic racism.  Cultivate processes rooted in compassion and restorative practices so all communities feel safe and thrive.   

What Is PDO Doing to Advance Race Equity?

The Public Defender's Office (PDO) pushes to make the criminal legal system equitable for everyone, especially People of Color. Our efforts include joining a Race Equity Leadership Academy.  We made a multi-generational commitment to equity work and have built our own office Race Equity Action Plan.  We became an early-adopter agency to support the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging’s (ODEB) work across county government.  Their goal is to ensure everyone in the county thrives. We are following a proven approach. We are employing the GARE strategy which focuses on making race equity a normal part of everything we do. We are organizing by setting up action committees.  The committees are people from across our organization who lead and carry out the work.

Some of Our Equity Programs and Projects:

  • Developed and revised an office Race Equity Action Plan to guide equity initiatives.
  • Launched an office Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee.
  • Obtained funding for dedicated Racial Justice Act Attorney to advance RJA litigation and implementation.
  • Launched an office GARE Race Equity Steering Committee and Action Subcommittees.
  • Partnered with the County’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Belonging (ODEB) to support their equity projects, including developing a Countywide Race Equity Strategic Roadmap and implementation of an Employee Equity Survey.
  • Established Community Outreach Attorneys to take our services and equity work directly into the communities most impacted by inequity. 
Race Equity

DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION AND BELONGING COMMITTEE (DEIB) IN OUR OFFICE

DEIB Committee

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) for Public Defenders: Building a Strong Team

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) focuses on creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of their background. Here's why it's important for public defenders:

  • Public defenders help many different people: Many of the people we help come from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
  • A strong team needs different perspectives: Any team needs people with different strengths, a public defender's office benefits from having staff from various backgrounds. These different perspectives help us better understand the people we serve and make better decisions.
  • Fairness starts at home: If the public defender's office itself isn't fair and inclusive, how can we fight for fairness in the criminal legal system?

So, DEIB is important because it helps public defender offices create a strong team that can better fight for the people we serve.

Our office takes pride in its history of pursing diverse staff.  Our diversity is reflected in many ways; including that approximately one quarter of our staff speak more than one language and approximately half of the attorneys identify as women.  The majority of our formal leadership team are either women and/or BIPOC.  Our diversity is our strength. Power lies in these diverse viewpoints. For these reasons we commit to recruiting staff that reflect the people we serve. 

What is the Office’s DEIB Mission Statement?

At the Santa Clara County Public Defender and Alternate Defender Offices we believe that our differences make us unique and guide us in helping our clients. Recognizing, respecting, and celebrating our differences make us supportive colleagues, better listeners, and successful advocates. Our varied backgrounds and lived experiences further our mission to provide exceptional and zealous advocacy for indigent people accused of crime. An inclusive work environment provides an atmosphere that allows all individuals to attain their greatest potential and achieve optimal outcomes for our clients.  Each member of our office should feel comfortable, safe, and proud of their individual diversity. We strive to foster an environment that facilitates this.

As such, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values for our office. It is critical that we incorporate these values into all aspects of our work. By establishing a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee (“DEIB Committee”) we commit ourselves to carrying out these core values. To achieve these results, the DEIB Committee will foster a shared culture at our office that promotes the goals of accepting, respecting, and valuing differences including age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, sexual identity, ability, language, family circumstances, socio-economic status, and cultural backgrounds.  Recognizing the unique impact of racism on our clients and staff, the Committee will devote special attention to issues of racial justice while committing ourselves to anti-racist principles and practices. We believe that creating a culture and continued practice of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is an ongoing process to which we commit ourselves. The DEIB Committee will continuously learn and look for ways to implement inclusion and belonging within our system through allyship, understanding, education, and cultural awareness. In addition to promoting an environment that will maintain a safe space for all, the DEIB Committee will look to pursue specific opportunities in the areas of employee engagement, hiring, retention, and diversity in leadership.  We will promote a welcoming office culture and make the Public and Alternate Defender offices a place where every individual feels that they belong.

What is the DEIB Committee Doing?

We want everyone to feel welcome and respected in our office, regardless of their background. In January 2022 we created a DEIB Committee to get people involved, asking staff for ideas on how to continue to make the office diverse and ensure people feel supported.  We are creating projects and programs to build a sense of belonging for all staff.  We want to keep improving, so we’re always looking for new ways to make the PDO a more inclusive workplace. By spring 2022 we added "belonging" to the Committee’s mission statement. We understand that equity isn't just about having a mix of people, it's about making sure everyone feels like they can be themselves and contribute their best work.

Events Include:

  • Law Student Shadow Day: The Committee invites law students to spend a day with us learning about our day-to-day work, mission, and values.  Some of our newer attorneys share their stories about attending law school and journeys to become public defenders. We focus invitations to school affinity groups to connect with diverse students.  
  • On Campus Interviews (OCI), Post-bar, and Legal Research Clerk Interview Support: Committee members help interview students for positions in the office.  This becomes a recruiting pipeline to future attorney positions. 
  • Forums: The Committee coordinates forums to discuss topics important to the staff, such as hosting a Women’s Forum in the wake of the Dobbs decision limiting reproductive freedom.
  • Cultural Celebrations and Social Events: The Committee wants to build a welcoming office culture.  They hold social events that celebrate the diverse cultures reflected in our coworkers, such as for Black History Month and Women’s History Month.  Also, they host welcome and training events to help new staff successfully join our public defender family.