Paul DeWolfe, the Maryland Public Defender, has announced that he will not seek reappointment when his current term expires on June 30, 2022.

The Board of Trustees of the Office of the Maryland Public Defender is charged with appointing a successor to Mr. DeWolfe. The Board will conduct a search and review the qualifications of all potential successors who evince interest in the post.

The statutory provisions governing the qualifications, appointment, salary, and removal of Public Defender can be found at Md. Code, Criminal Procedure, § 16- 203, which provides, in part: “To qualify for appointment as Public Defender, an individual shall be an attorney admitted to practice law in the State by the Court of Appeals of Maryland who has engaged in the practice of law for at least 5 years before appointment.” It is recommended that anyone interested in seeking that position review and be familiar with those qualifications and the other statutory provisions relating to the Office of the Public Defender which are set out in Title 16 of Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure article.

If you are interested in this position or know of someone who would be an exceptional candidate for the post please forward the following items to opd-publicdefender.search@maryland.gov

• a cover letter explaining your interest and qualifications to be the Maryland Public Defender;
• a current curriculum vitae; and
• a list of references (or, if nominating someone, their contact information)

The deadline for submission of materials is March 1, 2022.

The Board of Trustees will review candidates’ application materials and expects to interview a number of the candidates. Submission of application materials does not guarantee that a candidate will be interviewed.

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, is committed to building a culturally diverse staff, and strongly encourages people historically underrepresented in positions such as this to apply.