"Lawyers in a criminal case are necessities, not luxuries....[I]n our adversary system of justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems to us to be an obvious truth." Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 344 (1963). The Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington was established in the spring of 1975 for the purpose of ensuring the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel and equal access to justice in federal court. Fully staffed offices in Seattle and Tacoma provide wide ranging representation for financially qualified individuals whenever a liberty interest is threatened. The office also provides support and training for lawyers who accept appointments to represent people pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA). This web site was designed to further that support function and to provide information and news relevant to the mission of the office and the CJA.
This site has downloadable Adobe Acrobat Files. Click here if you need the free Acrobat Reader program.	Office Locations The Seattle Main Office of the Federal Public Defender is located at Westlake Center Office Tower - 1601 Fifth Avenue, Seattle Washington. The office is located on the seventh floor, Suite 700. The Tacoma Branch of the Federal Public Defender's Office is located in the Sound Credit Union Building, 1331 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma Washington. The office is on the fourth floor, Suite 400. How To Contact Us We can be reached Monday through Friday 8:00 - 4:30 at the following numbers: Seattle Office: 206.553.1100 Seattle Fax: 206.553.0120 Tacoma Office: 253.593.6710 Tacoma Fax: 253.593.6714 Se habla espanol.