An official State of Delaware site.

Official websites end in .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use https://

The https:// at the beginning of the delaware.gov address means you are safely connected to the government website. Any information that you provide is securely transmitted.

Office of Defense Services
A close up of a historical architectural column.

Office of Defense Services

"It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status."
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, Jr.

The Office of Defense Services provides legal services to indigent and incarcerated clients statewide. The ODS maintains offices in New Castle County, Kent County and Sussex County.
Request Representation

About the Office of Defense

About ODS

Learn more about the Office of Defense Services (ODS) various departments and divisions like Central Administration, the Public Defender and the Office of Conflicts Counsel.

Our Services

The Office of Defense Services has been an innovator in developing services to better serve our clients and the criminal justice system.

Interpreters

The Office of Defense Services will provide necessary interpretive services for your legal representation free of charge.

Events Calendar

Office of Defense Services

View More Events

Additional Resources

A group of job seekers in suits.

Employment Opportunities

A legal book and gavel and scales.

Continuing Legal Education

Two jurors sitting in court.

Office of Conflicts Counsel

Latest Blog Posts

  • ODS Director of Training and Development honored by Partners for Justice

    Dawn Williams, center, is awarded the Partners for Justice Legacy Award. From left to right is Eliza Hirst, ODS’s post-disposition attorney, Ian Homsy, PFJ advocate, Dawn Williams, ODS Director of Training and Development, PFJ advocates Olivia Louthen and Susannah Gale, and PFJ Regional Program Director, Lenora Easter.. Partners for Justice (PFJ), a nationally recognized nonprofit that partners with public defender[…]

  • Office of Defense Services, community partners, assist individuals at second chance fair

    Office of Defense Services staff Susan Hearn and Wendy McGee assist clients checking into the second chance fair. Despite the heat, volunteers from the Office of Defense Services and community partners turned out at the William “Hicks” Anderson Community Center in Wilmington to talk with roughly 85 individuals about their opportunities for a second chance. The event on Saturday, July[…]

  • ODS Appellate Division Chief elected to national appellate group

    This month, Office of Defense Services Appellate Division Chief Nicole Walker was elected to serve as a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (AAAL). ODS Appellate Division Chief Nicole Walker Walker is one of two attorneys in Delaware and one four public defenders nationwide to be elected to the AAAL. “It is an honor to be elected to[…]

  • ODS attorneys honored by Delaware State Bar Association

    Two of our incredibly talented attorneys, Meryem Dede and Dawn Williams, were recognized this month by the Delaware State Bar Association. Meryem, who is a felony-level attorney in New Castle County, was awarded the 2020 Young Lawyers Distinguished Service Award for her advocacy to end debtors’ prisons. Dawn, who is the ODS’s Director of Training and Development, received the 2020[…]

  • Kevin O’Connell sworn in as Chief Defender of the Delaware Office of Defense Services

    Kevin O’Connell was sworn in as Chief Defender of the Delaware Office of Defense Services on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. during a small ceremony at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington. O’Connell was appointed to the position by Governor John Carney and confirmed by the Delaware Senate in May. He replaces Brendan O’Neill, who retired[…]