David Smith

Public Defender

The Office of Public Defender represents criminal cases in the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit brought before the following courts in Haralson and Polk counties: Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, Juvenile Court, Magistrate Court, Probate Court and Superior Court.

In addition to criminal cases, the public defender's office handles delinquency cases in juvenile court, probation revocation cases and files criminal appeals for those convicted of crimes.

To obtain the services of a public defender, a defendant must apply to and be determined as qualified for such services by a local public defender office. If you have been arrested on criminal charges in Haralson or Polk counties in the courts described above, you can apply for services at that county's office location from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit
Public Defender Office

109 East Avenue
Cedartown, Georgia 30125

Assistant Public Defender
Cynthia Lane Salley

Juvenile Public Defender

Shikera Turner

Polk County Public Defender's Office

Mission Statement

The Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit Public Defender Office serves all of Polk County and is a part of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council and is jointly supported by the State of Georgia and Polk and Haralson Counties.

Our mission is to ensure, independently of political considerations or private interests, that each client whose cause has been entrusted to a circuit public defender receives zealous, adequate, effective, timely, and ethical legal representation, consistent with the guarantees of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, the Constitution of the United States and the mandates of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act of 2003; to provide all such legal services in a cost efficient manner; and to conduct that representation in such a way that the criminal justice system operates effectively to achieve justice.