How to Use public defender in a Sentence

public defender

noun
  • He has been assigned a public defender, who was not named in court records.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024
  • The lawyer, a public defender, said the teen had not slept well the night before.
    — Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 14 Aug. 2024
  • For the record, there are plenty of skilled public defenders out there.
    — Sara Netzley, EW.com, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Aguilar has not yet been assigned a public defender, per court records.
    — Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Nick now has a public defender.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 June 2026
  • Their public defenders argued the case against them was weak.
    — Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 15 June 2026
  • Court records show he was assigned a public defender.
    — Steven Rosenbaum, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
  • He was assigned a public defender and entered a plea of not guilty.
    — Drew Pittock, USA Today, 3 June 2026
  • Two of them are lawyers — one in Big Law and one a public defender.
    — Jane C. Murphy, Baltimore Sun, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Jackson or a public defender will have the same problems with the case.
    — Tracy Wright , Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 8 Jan. 2026
  • He was appointed a public defender, but the lawyer was not named in court records.
    — Megan Forrester, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2025
  • White has been assigned a public defender but hasn’t yet entered a plea.
    — oregonlive, 27 Apr. 2021
  • Mejer has not yet appeared in court, and there was no public defender listed in records for her.
    — ABC News, 1 May 2026
  • Earley is a trial lawyer who founded her own law firm and has worked as a public defender.
    — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 14 June 2026
  • His public defender doesn’t return his calls.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2026
  • He is represented by a public defender, who was not named in the court records.
    — Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
  • They have not yet been arraigned and assigned public defenders.
    — ABC News, 30 June 2026
  • Online records do not show that they been assigned public defenders in Utah.
    — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
  • His public defender did not return a call or email late Wednesday.
    — Ashley Luthern, Journal Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2024
  • The public defender for the couple is not commenting on the case.
    — Luke Barr, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2021
  • Bloom, a former public defender, will be handling the murder case against the teen.
    — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 Mar. 2022
  • But the storm also cleared the way for changes that the city's public defender system had needed for decades.
    — August 6, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
  • My years as a deputy public defender taught me that circumstances matter.
    — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Daily News, 3 June 2026
  • His public defender in Georgia could not be reached for comment.
    — Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE.com, 15 June 2021
  • Wright has been arguably the Chiefs’ biggest public defender through it all.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Think about public defenders working for no pay to represent the people who need them the most.
    — Judith Joseph, Contributor, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Attempts to reach her and her public defender were not successful.
    — Kevin Maurer, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
  • The suspect has been assigned a public defender.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Each will now be appointed a public defender.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
  • He will be represented by a public defender, court records show.
    — Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 6 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'public defender.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: