Public Defender

Public Defender

The head of the Davidson County Public Defender’s office is an elected position every four years. Candidates must be a licensed attorney, resident in Tennessee for five years, and reside in the judicial district for one year. Typical responsibilities include representing clients in General Sessions Court, Criminal Court, and Juvenile Court, and working collaboratively with other defense team members, including investigators, social workers, and legal assistants.

Residents are eligible for legal representation from a public defender in General Sessions Court if their annual income is 125 percent below federal poverty guidelines. In Criminal Court, the judge determines eligibility based on income.

The mission of the Metropolitan Public Defender’s Office is to defend the liberty, honor, and constitutional rights of the individuals, of all ages, whose cases have been entrusted to them. Through zealous advocacy, they strive to deliver excellence in their representation of each and every client but also to stand with their clients and the community to create a more just, fair, and compassionate legal system.

MARTESHA L. JOHNSON

Nashville native Martesha L. Johnson is the incumbent and the first African American to be elected to this position. Johnson earned her undergraduate degree at Tennessee State University and her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Johnson is the current president of the Nashville Bar Association.

Johnson has represented clients from diverse social and economic backgrounds in general sessions and state criminal court, conducting hearings, trials, factual investigations, legal research and negotiations. She has also led two criminal court teams and been a part of leadership and policy-making groups, including the Community Corrections Advisory Board. Johnson is also an active participant in DEFEND Nashville, and an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University of Law.

She focuses on her client’s education surrounding constitutional rights and the criminal justice process. Johnson believes that people should be treated with dignity regardless of race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation or the nature of the charges against them. She has been a staunch advocate for the decriminalization of poverty and the elimination of wealth-based disparities.