The Office is one of more than 50 Federal Defender Organizations throughout the United States, which exist by virtue of the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as agencies within the judicial branch of the federal government.  Our mission is to provide effective representation to persons charged with federal criminal offenses who have been determined by the court to be indigent and in need of representation.

Clients or persons who think they may be eligible for representation by the Federal Public Defender for the Districts of South Dakota and North Dakota may wish to review our "General Client Information Guidebook" which describes in lay terms how the federal criminal system operates and how federally appointed counsel will go about their task of representing you.