Guest Post: Justice Matters DN-R Column: Introducing The Public Defender's Office

Abigail Thibeault (Tee-bow) is a real blessing to our community.

When I moved to Harrisonburg in 2021, I thought I would work for the public defender.

I was living in northern Virginia, where I worked as an assistant public defender in Maryland and was committed to public defense. I was shocked to learn that Harrisonburg and Rockingham County didn’t have a public defender’s office. Public defenders staffed courtrooms in Staunton, Winchester, Charlottesville, and even Page County, but not here.

In Maryland, every county, no matter how small, has a public defender’s office. Instead of waiting, I joined the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and daydreamed about the day the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (VIDC) might open an office in Harrisonburg.

I’m a public defender to my core, and I believe in the power of a public defender’s office. An office of attorneys and professionals committed to indigent defense working together can stand up for defendants and stand against the abuse of power in a way that individual attorneys may not be able to. Harrisonburg and Rockingham County still had court-appointed attorneys — zealous lawyers in private practice willing to take on court-appointed cases individually — but no office solely dedicated to indigent defense. I wondered why a place as big as Rockingham County didn’t have this awesome resource until last fall.

Last fall, I left the Federal Public Defender’s Office, and we quietly began to build the first Office of the Public Defender for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. The work started years ago, when the VIDC, community members, courthouse stakeholders such as VIDC Commissioner and local attorney Aaron Cook, and local government, along with state Dels. Tony Wilt, R-Rockingham, and Sam Rasoul, R-Roanoke, who cosponsored the bill that established our office, started advocating for public defense in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Our office was founded on the hard work of countless individuals.

For me, the work started last September, in my living room, where I reviewed employee applications and introduced myself via email to everyone I imagined might be helpful — the sheriff, the commonwealth attorney, the Department of Social Services, the Community Services Board — anyone I thought might be a colleague, ally, or resource for our clients.

In October, I became “we,” and we began working in our office at 50 West Market Street. The office manager and investigator joined me at a long conference table in an otherwise empty office, where we began to imagine our office and set big goals.

We spent months hiring nine other attorneys, two mitigation specialists, two paralegals, and two legal assistants. Finally, we rounded out our team on Sept. 10, when our tenth attorney joined the office.

The Office of the Public Defender represents individuals facing criminal charges in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County who cannot afford to hire private counsel. Most people charged in criminal court are eligible for court-appointed representation, which includes the services of the public defender. The VIDC is dedicated to protecting and defending the rights and dignity of our clients in criminal court through zealous, compassionate, high-quality legal advocacy. We take our mission seriously. We work to protect our clients’ rights, knowing that our advocacy ensures fairness for every member of our community. Every day, we hold the line on our Constitutional rights and the fair enforcement of the law.

We believe that your wealth should not dictate the quality of the legal advocacy you have in criminal court. To that end, we fight for freedom every day. We cherish our own and take to heart the words of Toni Morrison, “the function of freedom is to free somebody else.” We further strive to show the Court, the Commonwealth, and the community the whole of our clients, who are too often the most vulnerable residents of Rockingham County.

We are pleased to partner with many outstanding community advocates in town, including the Valley Justice Coalition, which played a key role in the establishment of our office. Through these partnerships and our work in the court, we aim to enhance public safety. That may sound strange given we defend people charged with committing crimes, but we believe that a fair, humane, and forgiving court system improves safety and reduces crime.

To celebrate our first year, we are hosting an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 at our office, 50 W. Market St., in Harrisonburg. Please take a moment to visit our office, speak with our team, and ask any questions you may have about public defense. Light fare will be provided. We are grateful to be here.

Abigail M. Thibeault is the chief public defender of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Justice Matters columns are provided by members of the Valley Justice Coalition, a local citizen voice for criminal justice reform in our community and in the Commonwealth since 2014.