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public defender definition - legal

n

An attorney hired by the government for the purpose of defending anyone who is accused of a crime but who is unable to afford to hire an attorney. The right to such a defense is guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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