Shortly after his election in 1990, Mark Stephens, Knox County's Public Defender, undertook the careful study of representing clients by attending to both their legal problems and the social circumstances that leads clients to be involved in the legal system. During his participation in the Executive Sessions on Public Defense, sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Mr. Stephens began to crystallize a concept that would become the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office.

     Establishing an innovative holistic model of representation meant that public defenders go beyond the client's strict legal concerns and engage the client to examine the reasons for their situation. By attending to lifestyle choices underlying their legal entanglement, those represented by the Knox County Public Defenders office can improve their daily decisions and conduct. As a result, Public Defender clients can avoid future criminal conduct, decrease criminal justice costs in the long run and benefit the community with their positive contributions.

     The new building provides a space that will serve the Community in these efforts. The building is a place where attorneys, social workers, and our community partners can meet together with those who need help. Our social services staff can assist a client who needs a driver's license, housing, vocational training, mental health services or substance abuse treatment. We believe that the construction of this facility provides long term solutions as we as a Community meet our obligation to provide competent legal counsel to our indigent citizens accused.

     More information on the principles of the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office can be found in our Concept Paper and in our Organizational Strategies Paper.