The Defender Association of Philadelphia is the government-funded independent public defender office.

Under the federal system and most common among the states is through a publicly funded public defender office.

In addition to clerical staff, defender offices may employ investigators, social workers, and forensic experts, such as psychologists.

Although both type of defender offices are supported by public funding, they do not take direction from the government as to the operation of the offices.

The imbalance will worsen because defender offices all over the country are getting poorer.

Frost was also asked to help establish other public defender offices across the country.

Even after Knoxville's public defender office opened last year, they continued receiving assignments, for which the state pays $20 to $30 an hour.

The rates are the lowest in the nation except for New Jersey, which has an extensive network of public defender offices.

Defense attorneys in public defender offices often do not have sufficient time to prepare a case in detail for all of their clients.

Even states like Illinois appoint lawyers this way when the caseload is too large for the public defender offices.