Racial Justice Program

PDAP’s racial justice programming focuses on both educating Pennsylvania’s Public Defenders on how systemic racism affects their clients, and understanding the most prominent inequities affecting Pennsylvania’s indigent defense community.

Our virtual CLEs have covered a range of topics: from the effects of generational racism on housing and wealth, to the War on Drugs and its relationship to mass incarceration, to strategies for litigating racial issues in court. These sessions also helped confirm that while PA’s Public Defenders are dedicated to confronting systemic injustice in the lives of their clients, many continue to face that same injustice in their own offices and courtrooms.

In 2025, PDAP launched its Demographics & Inclusion Survey to see whether there is a connection between race and retention, and to determine what could be done to make sure that Public Defenders of color are supported in their work and in our offices.

The Racial Justice Report is the product of that survey and the conversations that followed. The results were taken from 84 responses spanning a wide variety of offices, roles and demographics across the Commonwealth of PA. They showed that Public Defenders of color and other marginalized identities across the state experience feelings of exclusion and isolation in the office at a much higher rate than their colleagues.

We want every Public Defender to stay in the work, and we want offices to be well-equipped to handle microaggressions and racism when they arise. This report not only highlights our findings, but also offers recommendations for Public Defender Chiefs and managers to create more sustainable, inclusive workplace environments, which in turn is proven to improve the quality and stability of representation. A copy of the report was mailed to every Public Defender’s Office in Pennsylvania, and we have also made it available in our online training library under both Racial Justice Resources and PDAP Manuals & Reference Sheets.

Our mission is to provide tools, strategies, mutual support, training and information to Public Defender Offices in Pennsylvania; to be the voice of public defense in Pennsylvania; and to promote best practices in the leadership, management, and administration of justice in Pennsylvania.