Orange County Public Defender Employment

RECRUITMENT/POSITION INFORMATION

This recruitment is being held to establish an Open Eligible List to fill Public Defender vacancies until the next recruitment. IF YOU APPLIED DURING ANY PREVIOUS RECRUITMENT PROCESS, YOU MUST REAPPLY TO RECEIVE FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

General Duties: An attorney for the Public Defender performs professional legal work in the interpretation and application of law; defending indigent persons accused of crimes; research and preparation of legal documents used in criminal trials.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

License Required: Active membership in the State Bar of California. Bar number required.
Experience: The Attorney II and III levels require one year and two years experience respectively as an attorney in the practice of criminal law. Post bar experience in a civil or general practice law office may be substituted for the criminal law experience on a two-month to one-month basis.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL REQUIREMENTS

The County of Orange is committed to providing a means for applicants who may have a disability to identify areas in which they may request a reasonable accommodation. The following is a description of the physical and mental abilities, which are customarily required to perform the essential job functions of this position. Applicants are encouraged to contact the recruiter listed below for any questions or to request an accommodation during the testing/selection process.
Physical Characteristics: Vision sufficient to read standard text, read a computer monitor and to drive; speak and hear well enough to communicate clearly and understandably in person, over the telephone and in court; independent body mobility, agility and stamina to stand, sit, walk, stoop and bend routinely; conduct interviews in a nonstandard field environment; to access a standard office environment as well as courtroom equipment and to drive an automobile; manual dexterity to use hands, arms and shoulders repetitively to operate a keyboard and to write; body strength sufficient to lift and carry files.
Environmental Conditions: Will be required to interact with persons of diverse backgrounds and educational levels including in custody and out of custody defendants, victims, witnesses, persons having interest in criminal cases and varying levels of other governmental organizations; interact with the public in emotional and occasionally hostile situations; work with changing deadlines and competing priorities.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

The Public Defender's Office/Human Resources will be accepting all applications with supplemental information forms.
APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED WITHOUT A COMPLETED SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FORM WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

Application Rating: (Refer/Non-Refer) Application materials will be rated by a panel of job knowledge experts for those qualifications most needed to perform the duties of the job. The more qualified will be referred to the next step in the competition.
Panel Interview: (Weighted 100%) Candidates will be interviewed and rated by a panel of job knowledge experts. Each candidate's rating will be based on responses to a series of questions designed to elicit the candidate's qualifications for the position.

ELIGIBLE LIST

After all procedures have been completed, the Public Defender will establish an eligible list of qualified candidates.

HOW TO APPLY

For application or recruitment materials, please call 714/834-5922. For specific questions pertaining to this recruitment, you may call Diana Hantsche 714/834-3080.

Visit the job web site @ http://www.oc.ca.gov/hr/ on the Internet for information about other employment opportunities with the County of Orange. Click here to download supplemental information form.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FORM REQUIRED

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PUBLIC DEFENDER INTERVIEWER I/II
BILINGUAL (SPANISH/ENGLISH OR VIETNAMESE/ENGLISH ONLY)

Beginning 8:00 a.m., Monday, February 05, 2001, the Office of the Public Defender/Human Resources will accept applications with a supplemental information form on a continuous basis until the needs of the Department are met.

SALARY PER MONTH:
INTERVIEWER I. …...FROM $1929 UP TO $2517 MAXIMUM
INTERVIEWER II …...FROM $2057 UP TO $2728 MAXIMUM
BILINGUAL PAY…....ADDITIONAL $.60 PER HOUR

This recruitment is being held to establish an open Eligible List to fill Public Defender vacancies in these classes until the next recruitment. IF YOU APPLIED DURING ANY PREVIOUS RECRUITMENT PROCESS, YOU MUST RE-APPLY TO RECEIVE FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

GENERAL DUTIES

Public Defender Interviewers interview defendants accused of offenses to determine circumstances and events of alleged crime; prepare reports of interviewees; serve subpoenas, and obtain documents from various facilities. A Public Defender Interviewer I learns sections of the Penal Code, search and seizure issues, identification issues and related legal information; also conducts less difficult interviews of defendants accused of less serious offenses. The II level conducts the more difficult interviews involving serious crimes. Full-time and part-time positions are available.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Public Defender Interviewer I
Experience: One year of experience that can be directly related to the knowledge and abilities listed below. Related education or training may be substituted at the rate of three semester units for one month of experience and one hour of training for one hour of experience. If you are using education/training to meet the minimum qualifications, you must list related classes (Criminal Justice, Psychology, Sociology) and units earned.
Some Knowledge of: Basic human behavior to overcome hostility and reticence in the interviewees; basic interviewing techniques; the criminal justice system.
Ability to: Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with persons of widely varying backgrounds; present written and oral information in a concise and accurate manner; communicate in Spanish or in Vietnamese.

Public Defender Interviewer II
Experience: Six months experience as a Public Defender Interviewer I with the County of Orange, OR two years experience that can be related to the knowledge and abilities listed below. Related education or training may be substituted at the rate of three semester units for one month of experience and one hour of training for one hour of experience. If you are using education/training to meet the minimum qualifications, you must list related classes (Criminal Justice, Psychology, Sociology) and units earned.
General Knowledge of: Techniques of interviewing people for the purpose of getting and recording moderately complicated information in a face-to-face situation; basic human behavior and motivation sufficient to overcome hostility and reticence in the interviewees.
Some Knowledge of: Principles of identification, search and seizure, and related legal information that are of value to the defense attorney.
Ability to: Communicate effectively with clients to provide and obtain information; prepare and present written or oral information in a concise and accurate manner; understand procedures for recording and forwarding the information received from the interviewee; recognize items that require additional investigation; detect inconsistencies in the defendant's information; communicate in Spanish or in Vietnamese.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Physical Characteristics: Vision sufficient to read standard text, read a computer monitor and to drive; speak and hear well enough to communicate clearly and understandably in person, over the telephone and in court; independent body mobility, agility and stamina to stand, sit, walk, stoop and bend routinely; conduct interviews in a nonstandard field environment; to access a standard office environment as well as courtroom equipment; able to drive an automobile; manual dexterity to use hands, arms and shoulders repetitively to operate a keyboard and to write; body strength sufficient to lift and carry files.

Environmental Conditions: Will be required to interact with persons of diverse backgrounds and educational levels including victims, witnesses, persons having interest in criminal cases and varying levels of other governmental organizations which include jail facilities and/or courtroom holding tanks; interact with the public in emotional and occasionally hostile situations; work with changing deadlines and competing priorities.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

Public Defender Human Resources screens all applications and supplemental information forms to identify the candidates who meet the minimum qualifications. APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED WITHOUT A COMPLETED SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FORM WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

Panel Interview: (Weighted 100%) Candidates will be interviewed and rated by a panel of job knowledge experts. Each candidate's rating will be based on responses to a series of questions designed to elicit the candidate's qualifications for the position.

ELIGIBLE LIST

After all procedures have been completed, the Public Defender will establish an eligible list of qualified candidates.

HOW TO APPLY

For applications or recruitment materials, you may download the application and recruitment materials at www.oc.ca.gov/hr or call (714) 834-5922. At www.oc.ca.gov/hr you have the option of applying on-line as well as downloading the application and recruitment information. Specific information pertaining to this recruitment can be obtained by calling Diana Hantsche at (714) 834-3080.

Return your application and supplemental information form via e-mail to HR@pubdef.co.orange.ca.us or mail to Public Defender Human Resources, 14 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701.

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