POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Public Defender has a new 13,500 square foot office located at 45 Market Street in Poughkeepsie that cost $6.3 million dollars to renovate. The original funding request was for $1.75 million.
Dutchess County received over $850,000 in state funding from the New York State Indigent Legal Services that covered some of the renovation costs.
The county purchased the building and hired contractors that performed a substantial amount of rehabilitation to the 99-year-old structure before the office could be moved.
Attorneys and support staff officially occupied the space this past Monday. The previous office was just over 6,000 square feet and housed 28 attorneys and 50 support personnel.
According to the county executive’s office, the Public Defender’s office has expanded in the past several years due to expanded services, state mandates, and grants that have funded additional staff to provide these services and meet the mandates. This additional staff produced a need for additional office space. The space needed to be very near to the Family and County Courthouses and the County Office Building and 45 Market Street met those needs.
In 2018, the Dutchess County Public Defender’s office represented 6,852 individuals in criminal and appellate courts as well as provided legal assistance in 2,263 cases in the Family Courts of Dutchess and Ulster Counties.
