Barry Melton
PUBLIC DEFENDER OF YOLO COUNTY
814 North Street Woodland, CA 95695
(530) 666-8165
Open Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m.-Noon, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Legal Consultation By Appointment Only

For Directions To Our Office Click Here

       Welcome to the website of the Public Defender of Yolo County.

       California Government Code Sections 27700-27709 require a county's public defender to provide legal representation for indigent persons in certain circumstances. And in most counties, the public defender heads the county law office which fulfills this obligation in the most cost effective manner. As Public Defender of Yolo County, I am proud of the commitment of our office to provide services mandated by constitutional, statutory, and decisional requirements of law that guarantee indigent people the effective assistance of counsel before the courts. The lawyers, administrative staff, and support staff of the Yolo County Public Defender's Office seek to ensure that quality legal representation is not compromised by the economic status of the accused.

       Under the California State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers representing persons accused of criminal conduct must hold the confidences of their clients privileged and work within the law to achieve the client's best interest. A Public Defender's Office is a part of a larger justice system, based on the beliefs that the State bears the burden of proof in accusing individual citizens and that the rights of the individual before our courts include the effective assistance of counsel guaranteed under the Constitution of the State of California and the United States Constitution.

      For further information about rights of criminal defendants and the public defenders that represent them, please refer to our Legal Links page.

Sincerely,

Barry Melton, Public Defender of Yolo County 

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Last Updated: 02/23/08