The Office of the Public Defender provides legal representation to those individuals who are financially unable to secure sufficient funds to obtain legal counsel in matters where counsel is constitutionally guaranteed. 

The Office of the Public Defender provides legal counsel in the following matters:

1. Where a person is charged with juvenile delinquency;
2. Critical pretrial identification procedures;
3. Preliminary hearings;
4. State habeas corpus proceedings;
5. State trials, including pretrial and post- trial motions;
6. Superior Court appeals;
7. Pennsylvania Supreme Court appeals;
8. Post conviction hearings at the trial and appellate levels;
9. Criminal extradition proceedings;
10. Probation and parole violation hearings;
11. Involuntary commitment under the Mental Health Procedures Act;
12. Any proceeding where personal liberty is in jeopardy.

The Office of the Public Defender does not provide service in the following matters:

1. Family Division matters such as divorce, child custody, support, initial PFA proceedings or termination of parental rights;
2. Traffic citations, unless there is a mandatory sentence;
3. Landlord -tenant matters;
4. Dependency proceedings involving the Office of Children, Youth and Families.

For help concerning these matters, please contact the  Allegheny County Bar Association.