Public Defender’s Office Outreach Team Brings Courthouse Services to the People
Program formed out of necessity during the pandemic continues to serve unhoused population and others who may benefit from legal resources
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – On a recent Friday afternoon outing, Deputy Public Defender Jake Rhodes made his way along a path following the Guadalupe River at a South San José outpost of tents and tarps known as “Bass Lake,” looking for unhoused residents who could use a little help.
“Hello – anyone there?” called out Rhodes, casually clad in sweatpants and a matching Public Defender fist-of-justice T-shirt and baseball cap. “Anyone need water? Anyone need socks?”
Rhodes and an assisting intern from the office had boxes of offerings – snacks, hygiene kits and various helpful sundries for those living outdoors. But they also came with much more: Narcan spray and training, referrals to Behavioral Health Services and partner agencies, and a core mission of providing in-the-field legal resources.
“When someone is on their way to a better self, it’s not hard to convince a judge to help them out,” said Rhodes. “So, what we try to do is convince them that we can get them in front of a judge … to explain the situation that they're in and kind of bring some humanity to the matter. A lot of people out here feel like they're being kind of pushed aside by society, and when we come out here, we see a different side. Oftentimes they will open up about the struggles that they're facing.”
This particular brand of outreach by the Public Defender’s Office (PDO) came about as a benevolent outgrowth of the pandemic. Courts were closed during the lockdown, and the PDO diverted resources to serving the unhoused population. Initial efforts centered on providing COVID information and news about what services were still available, evolving into a push to get the legal information out there – to bring the courts to the people instead of hoping for them to make their way to court.
The idea, said Assistant Public Defender Damon Silver, is to “reconnect people with the system.”
“People are getting the services that will make them more successful,” he said. “Our unhoused population often don’t get the services they need to move out of homelessness because they’re afraid that they’re going to get arrested if they try to reconnect.”
Once bench warrants are recalled and that connection is reestablished, Silver said, the PDO can then combine legal resources with various wraparound services to better help the individual get back on track and flourish.
It doesn’t only involve outreach to the unhoused community. On Cesar Chavez Day, the PDO held its first Community Resource and Expungement Fair, which drew hundreds to the lawn outside the main office on Mission Street in San José. Free services included record clearance and reduction, fine deletion, warrant and arrest recalls, as well as housing waitlist checks and affordable housing information, healthcare info, bicycle tune-ups and haircuts.
County of Santa Clara Public Defender Molly O’Neal intends to make it an annual event. She calls the increased outreach a “holistic” approach to criminal defense.
“We really need to understand the community we serve,” she said, adding that they take the vast geography into consideration with efforts specific to North and South County, as well as the population-specific outreach to the unhoused and at colleges and schools. “The best way to do that is to be in the community, meeting people where they are.”
Assistant Public Defender Damon Silver, who is in charge of the community outreach branch of the PDO, said the evolving philosophy has them “moving away from just serving clients in their criminal legal needs.”
“We are really asking the question – why are they involved in the system in the first place?” he said.
Tina Bui, a lead legal clerk with the PDO, said it’s heart-warming to see some clients come back to the office – not for services but to show their gratitude to those who helped them in their time of need.
“The people here are doing things to help the community, things that go beyond their job – it’s a real passion for people in this office,” she said. “There’s a real need for the things we do; injustices, biases that need to be addressed. And here are people working tirelessly, endlessly, every day trying to achieve that.”
Back at Bass Lake, 30-year-old Tyler said he’s been living outdoors for nearly half his life. He was surprised to see Rhodes come by and to hear about the outreach efforts of the PDO.
“It makes you feel a little better about the court system when they’re coming out here, seeing them extend the hand rather than us having to seek the hand,” he said. “It’s a lot more impactful – it’s more personable and it creates a better connection. … Some people are fearful; they might have records and stuff. This makes us more hopeful, and more motivated to cooperate and receive services.”
Learn more about the County of Santa Clara Public Defender’s Office at https://pdo.santaclaracounty.gov/home.