Office History

The Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791 as the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, established that persons accused of committing a crime have the right to be represented by an attorney. Since that time the United States Supreme Court has interpreted that right to mean that the court must appoint an attorney to represent a criminal defendant who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

In 1963, the United States Supreme Court decided the Gideon case. [Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)] Florida law, prior to Gideon, provided that attorneys could only be appointed in capital cases. The Supreme Court ruled that the right to counsel guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution applied to state court prosecutions. In response to this landmark ruling, the Florida Legislature created the first statewide Public Defender system. In 1967, the right to court-appointed counsel was extended to juveniles accused of committing delinquent (criminal) acts. [In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967)]Finally, in 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the right to counsel applies to all cases, including misdemeanors, where liberty interests are at risk. [Argersinger v. Hamlin, (407 U.S. 25 (1972)] The Public Defender's Office now represents not only indigent persons charged with the commission of a crime but also the mentally ill and developmentally disabled who are subject to involuntary commitment proceedings.

Lee Roy Horton, Jr., was the first Public Defender for the Tenth Judicial Circuit and served from 1963 until 1972. In 1972, Jack O. Johnson was elected to be the first full-time Public Defender for the circuit. He served until his retirement in 1980. During this time, the Office of the Public Defender grew from 17 employees to over 50. The office also became responsible for prosecuting all felony appeals before the Second District Court of Appeal.

Jerry Hill was elected Public Defender in 1980 and served one term until he was elected State Attorney in 1984.

In 1984 J. Marion Moorman was elected Public Defender. At that time there were 75 employees of the office, including attorneys, secretaries, and investigators. Currently, Mr. Moorman supervises a staff of over 140 including more than 75 lawyers who serve clients in the circuit and county courts of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, as well as appellate clients in the Second District Court of Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, and the federal courts.