16 Members of Class of 2023 Planning To Serve in Public Defender Roles

Sixteen members of the Class of 2023 at the University of Virginia School of Law have obtained positions as public defenders or plan to serve in the role after a clerkship.

That number is a new high for recent classes and could be a record, said Leah Gould, assistant dean for public service at the Law School.

Gould, who leads the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center and career counseling for students interested in public interest positions, noted that this class has grown up seeing news about the impact of the criminal justice system on minority communities. Just before the students began law school, a wave of protests broke out nationwide in the spring of 2020 in the wake of the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.

“This passionate group of students arrived at the Law School on a mission to help those most in need,” Gould said. “Now they will stand up in courts around the country to zealously advocate for their clients and ensure that the government does not overstep its authority. We could not be prouder.”

Third-year student Warren Griffiths said he came to law school “wanting to help people, like most who go to law school.”

He had “really wonderful” experiences at public defender offices during his two summers and looked up to the former public defenders who serve on the UVA faculty, including Professors Kelly Orians and Thomas Frampton, he said. 

“The best preparation for a career in public defense is doing it,” Griffiths said. He committed to pro bono work with organizations like the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center and the Second Look Project, and practical skills courses like the Innocence Project and the Decarceration and Community Reentry and Holistic Youth Defense clinics.

“I also got a lot out of the school’s J-Term Trial Advocacy College and Professor Molly Shadel’s public speaking courses,” he said.

His strategy worked, and he soon will be working as a staff attorney in the criminal defense unit of the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo.

“I will defend clients charged with all of the most common criminal charges brought around the country — drug possession, assault and battery, gun charges, burglary,” he said. “Our criminal system perpetuates injustices against poor and marginalized members of our community. I’m thrilled to be joining the fight against these oppressive forces.”

Before Griffiths graduated, he helped organize his fellow public defenders for a photo. Here’s where they are headed:

Isaac Buckley

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Undergraduate School: University of Virginia
Headed to: Clerkship with Senior Judge Martha Vazquez of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, Santa Fe. Buckley intends to pursue a career in public defense afterward.

Whitney Carter

Hometown: Mill Creek, Washington
Undergraduate School: Whitworth University
Headed to: Contra Costa County Public Defenders, Martinez, California

Juhi Desai

Hometown: Clifton, New Jersey
Undergraduate School: University of Rochester
Headed to: Legal Aid Society of New York, Juvenile Rights Unit, The Bronx

James Ford

Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
Undergraduate School: University of Dundee, Scotland
Headed to: Office of Public Advocacy, Anchorage, Alaska

Amalia Garcia-Pretelt

Hometown: Charlottesville
Undergraduate School: University of Virginia
Headed to: Clerkship with Senior Judge Martha Vazquez of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, Santa Fe. Garcia-Pretelt intends to pursue a career in public defense afterward.

Warren Griffiths

Hometown: Monroe, Connecticut
Undergraduate School: University of Maryland
Headed to: Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Criminal Defense Unit, New York

Chase Gunter

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Undergraduate School: University of Virginia
Headed to: Richmond Public Defender’s Office, Virginia

Parker Kelly

Hometown: Houston, Texas
Undergraduate School: George Washington University
Headed to: Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, city to be determined

Emma King

Hometown: Bradenton, Florida
Undergraduate School: Tulane University
Headed to: Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Florida, Capital Habeas Unit, Tallahassee

Bryanna Lindberg

Hometown: Galax, Virginia
Undergraduate School: University of Virginia
Headed to: Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, city to be determined

Tyriek Mack

Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Undergraduate School: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Headed to: Bronx Defenders (criminal defense unit), New York

Kathryn McEvoy

Hometown: Frederick, Maryland
Undergraduate School: Washington and Lee University
Headed to: Mecklenburg County Public Defender's Office, Charlotte, North Carolina

Blair Schaefer

Hometown: Winchester, Virginia
Undergraduate School: George Mason University
Headed to: Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender, Pittsburgh

Hunter Sentner

Hometown: Port Washington, New York
Undergraduate School: Haverford College
Headed to: Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, Hempstead, New York   

Sydney Stanley

Hometown: Manassas, Virginia
Undergraduate School: University of Virginia
Headed to: Exploring several public defender opportunities

David Wu

Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Undergraduate School: University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Headed to: Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, city to be determined

Note: After publication online, another member of the Class of 2023 reported obtaining a public defender role following graduation, bringing the total to 16.