LA County Proclaims Public Defense Day, Honoring Right to Counsel at Pasadena Offices

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proclaimed March 18, 2026, as Public Defense Day, recognizing the constitutional right to legal counsel and the public defenders who uphold it at offices across the county, including two branches in Pasadena.

The proclamation, authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, commemorates the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which established that states must provide attorneys to criminal defendants who cannot afford one, according to an LA County Board of Supervisors press release. The LA County Public Defender operates a Pasadena office at 300 E. Walnut St., and the Alternate Public Defender maintains a branch at 221 E. Walnut St., both near the Pasadena Courthouse.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Gideon that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is a fundamental right applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, according to the U.S. Courts.

LA County’s Public Defender’s Office, established in 1914, describes itself as the nation’s oldest and largest indigent defense agency, according to its website. The office predates the Gideon ruling by 49 years.

“Thanks to the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision, your right to an attorney in America does not depend on how much money you have,” Hahn said in the press release. “Our LA County public defenders fight every day to make sure justice isn’t reserved for the wealthy.”

Public defense services in LA County are delivered through three offices: the Public Defender’s Office, the Alternate Public Defender’s Office, and the Independent Defense Counsel’s Office, established in 2023, according to the press release. Together they represent adults facing criminal charges, youth in delinquency proceedings, and individuals in certain post-conviction matters.

Public Defender Ricardo D. Garcia said in the press release that “LA public defenders are the living expression of one of the Constitution’s most important promises: every person accused by the government has the right to a lawyer and a fair chance at justice.”

Alternate Public Defender Erika Anzoátegui called the Gideon decision “a game-changer for the criminal justice system,” adding in the press release that “indigent defense attorneys are often the last line of defense for those who have been accused of a crime.”

The Public Defender’s Office employs more than 1,100 people, including more than 700 attorneys, across 36 locations countywide, according to the office. The Pasadena Public Defender branch can be reached at (626) 356-5481, and the Alternate Public Defender’s Pasadena branch at (626) 356-5121.

March 18 is recognized nationally as Public Defense Day by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The proclamation does not create new services or change existing operations.