Office of Public Defender

Office of Public Defender anchors a workforce of 1,347 employees, one of the biggest payrolls in state government.

The most common title is Assistant Deputy Public Defender 2 (16% of staff), followed by Assistant Deputy Public Defender 3 and Assistant Deputy Public Defender 1. Median pay is $98,503, about 16% above the statewide median.

Median tenure is 9.3 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 87%).

About Office of Public Defender

The Office of the Public Defender represents people charged with crimes who cannot afford a lawyer, a constitutional obligation the state discharges through salaried staff rather than assigned counsel alone. It also houses parental representation work and mental health advocacy.

The roster is a law office at scale. Assistant deputy public defenders at three levels do the trial work, with deputy public defenders supervising above them. The agency employs its own investigators, because defense work needs its own fact gathering rather than relying on the state's. Legal secretaries, clerk typists and senior clerks handle the case files. Overtime is close to nonexistent here, which is what a salaried professional office looks like in payroll data.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

• Assistant Deputy Public Defender 2217 employees
  16.1% of staff · median $124,745 · CWA
• Assistant Deputy Public Defender 3178 employees
  13.2% of staff · median $154,291 · CWA
• Assistant Deputy Public Defender 1170 employees
  12.6% of staff · median $84,368 · CWA
• Investigator 1 Public Defender160 employees
  11.9% of staff · median $86,027 · CWA
• Legal Secretary 264 employees
  4.8% of staff · median $55,196 · CWA
• Clerk Typist58 employees
  4.3% of staff · median $42,990 · CWA
• Senior Clerk Typist50 employees
  3.7% of staff · median $49,608 · CWA
• Deputy Public Defender 249 employees
  3.6% of staff · median $163,710
• Investigator 2 Public Defender32 employees
  2.4% of staff · median $106,040
• Secretarial Assistant 331 employees
  2.3% of staff · median $88,395 · CWA
• Attorney Assistant29 employees
  2.2% of staff · median $75,660 · CWA
• Investigator Apprentice Public Defender29 employees
  2.2% of staff · median $61,510 · CWA

56 further titles appear on this agency's payroll, 68 in all.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

12 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 12 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

• Assistant Deputy Public Defender 2all 217 statewide
  only at this agency
• Assistant Deputy Public Defender 3all 178 statewide
  only at this agency
• Assistant Deputy Public Defender 1all 170 statewide
  only at this agency
• Investigator 1 Public Defenderall 160 statewide
  only at this agency
• Deputy Public Defender 2all 49 statewide
  only at this agency
• Investigator 2 Public Defenderall 32 statewide
  only at this agency
• Investigator Apprentice Public Defenderall 29 statewide
  only at this agency
• Investigator 3 Public Defenderall 27 statewide
  only at this agency

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $75,822 and $134,140, a ratio of 1.77 between the two quartiles. That is about the same spread as state government as a whole (1.81).

• Lowest recorded salary$39,681
• Lower quartile$75,822
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$98,503
  statewide $84,796
• Upper quartile$134,140
  statewide $113,264
• Highest recorded salary$210,000

Based on 1,307 salaried records.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

• CWA1,171 employees
  86.9% of the agency
• IBEW82 employees
  6.1% of the agency
• IFPTE5 employees
  0.4% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 93% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 9.3 years, essentially the statewide figure of 9.6. 34% joined within the last five years, and 20% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years443 employees
  34.0% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years260 employees
  19.9% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years224 employees
  17.2% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years117 employees
  9.0% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years138 employees
  10.6% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more122 employees
  9.4% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 1,304 of this agency's 1,347 payroll records.

Overtime

9 employees here recorded overtime, 0.7% of the agency, against 31.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $47,645 in overtime, averaging $5,294 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

• Employees with recorded overtime9
• Share of the agency0.7%
• Total overtime paid$47,645
• Average per employee earning it$5,294

Civil service coverage

95% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. That is a high match rate, and it means the hiring routes described elsewhere on this site apply to most jobs here: an announced examination, an eligible list, and appointment from that list.

• Records matched to a specification1,284
• Records with no matching specification63
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster68

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 13th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 1.8% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.

• Motor Vehicle Commission2,898 employees
  median $66,142
• Veterans Affairs1,599 employees
  median $59,678
• Office of Legislative Services1,195 employees
  median $101,140
• Department of Community Affairs1,150 employees
  median $81,897