Ronald L. Brown named to head public defender’s office
A veteran lawyer in the Los Angeles County public defender’s office has been quietly selected as the new head of the agency, a position that oversees more than 700 defense attorneys who represent indigent defendants in criminal court.
Assistant Public Defender Ronald L. Brown said in a phone interview Wednesday that the county’s chief executive officer notified him that he had been recommended for the job.
County Chief Executive Officer William T Fujioka confirmed that Brown was his choice to replace outgoing Public Defender Michael P. Judge, who retired after 16 years in the position. Although the county has yet to finalize salary negotiations, Fujioka said the Board of Supervisors would probably confirm Brown’s appointment in January.
“He has had a solid history with wide experience in the department and is committed to high-quality legal services,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said of Brown.
If approved, Brown, 56, would be the first African American to hold the post.
Brown described himself as a product of South-Central Los Angeles and said his family was on welfare when he was child. He studied history as an undergraduate at USC and attended UCLA School of Law before joining the public defender’s office in 1981.
“The county of Los Angeles has given me everything from food stamps as a child to my education to my job,” Brown said. “I owe the taxpayers and the citizens of Los Angeles.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
