Georgia Public Defender Council
05/06/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/06/2024 10:07
Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office Welcomes New Leader
DECATUR GA - The Georgia Public Defender Council announces the appointment of Letitia B. Delan as its new Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Public Defender.
Delan has more than three decades of experience in criminal defense. She succeeds retiring Circuit Defender Claudia Saari.
Georgia Public Defender Council Executive Director Omotayo Alli said Delan is well-respected within the legal community and admired for her unwavering commitment to upholding the rights of the accused.
"In addition to her extensive trial advocacy work, Ms. Delan has been a valuable member of the Leadership Team within the Public Defender's Office since 2007," Alli said. "In her role as Chief Assistant, she played a pivotal part in overseeing employee relations, implementing professional development programs, managing interdepartmental relations, and guiding attorney supervisors. Her wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion for excellence make her ideally suited to lead the dedicated attorneys, investigators, social workers, and support staff who make up the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office."
A graduate of Manhattanville College and Emory University School of Law, Delan began her career as a private practitioner before joining the DeKalb Public Defender's Office in 1994. She has represented a multitude of clients across a wide range of cases, from children prosecuted as adults to high-profile death penalty cases.
Beyond managing the GPDC's second largest circuit office Delan shares her expertise with the broader legal community by instructing at Emory School of Law's Trial Techniques Program, speaking at criminal defense conferences, and participating in leadership initiatives such as Gideon's Promise, the National Association of Public Defense's Leadership Institute, and the National College of Defense Counsel.
Delan said she is honored to join the distinguished leadership tradition of the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office.
"I look forward to continuing the outstanding legacy of my predecessor and to forging new paths," she said.
In her spare time Delan enjoys playing tennis, exploring the world through travel, and tackling the challenges of the daily New York Times crossword puzzle.
About GPDC
Georgia Public Defender Council attorneys, investigators, client support, and administrative professionals provide legal representation to 85 percent of persons charged with crimes by the state of Georgia. The GPDC's mission is to ensure, independent of political considerations or private interests, that each person whose cause has been entrusted to a circuit public defender receives zealous, adequate, effective, timely, and ethical legal representation, consistent with the guarantees of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, the Constitution of the United States, and the mandates of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act of 2003. More at www.gapubdef.org