New Orleans – The Orleans Public Defenders is thrilled to announce the appointment of Deputy Chief Defender Danny Engelberg as the next Chief Defender for New Orleans. Engelberg was selected by the Louisiana Public Defender Board to succeed previous Chief Defender Derwyn Bunton who stepped down in September.
“I am humbled to have been chosen to lead this office of such extraordinary fighters and relentless advocates who stand up or our clients and community every single day, fighting for equity, understanding, and the rights of all New Orleanians. I am constantly inspired by their grit and compassion, and honored to fight alongside them each day.”
Engelberg’s initial priorities as Chief Defender include expanding and growing OPD’s community-oriented model of representation for the nearly 20,000 cases we handle each year, furthering the work already started to foster a more diverse and representative office that will improve our advocacy and better serve our clients, and strengthening our pathways to being part of the shared effort for better public health and community safety. “One of the things that makes our office great is the willingness to learn and grow. There is always room to improve and we’re committed to ensuring continuous evolution for the better.”
Prior to his appointment, Engelberg served as the Deputy Chief Defender and previously the Chief of Trials. He has been integral in the evolution of OPD post-Katrina and the elevation of public defense in New Orleans over the last almost two decades, and has dedicated his career to public interest, having joined OPD in 2007 as a Staff Attorney, followed by Felony Attorney Supervisor, Training Supervisor and Deputy Chief of Trials over the years. OPD has since grown from an office of a few attorneys and administrators, to one that is a full visualization of a community-based, client-centered public defender office. Through the work of countless people on the ground, in the courts, or in front of stakeholders and decisionmakers, OPD continues to fulfill our mission and vision of fighting for the rights of our clients and community, and increase the level of representation for low income New Orleanians.
“OPD is committed to bringing dignity, justice and hope to our clients, their families, and our community. The legal system remains unjust and dehumanizing, and I look forward to continuing our fight to change the way our clients are treated and perceived, not just in court, but within society.”
Throughout his tenure at OPD, Engelberg has been part of innovative programming such as our partnership with the Safety and Justice Challenge to increase bond advocacy and representation at First Appearances, attorney fellowships with the American Bar Association and the New Orleans Saints, as well as reentry and advocacy through Justice Reinvestment grants, state and local grants, and private funders like the Schusterman Family, Baptist Community Ministries and Public Welfare Foundation.
Additionally, Engelberg has been integral in securing funding equity between OPD and the district attorney, which guarantees 85% the appropriation allocated to the DA be given to OPD. Realizing funding parity was the result of more than a decade of collective advocacy, and now is allowing us to more fully and adequately represent our clients by hiring more attorneys, and supporting them outside the court with additional social workers and peer and client advocates, instead of operating within continuous fiscal crises.
“I am excited to continue the momentum of change we have achieved in the last decade. We still have a long way to go before New Orleans is truly an equitable city, but together with our clients and community, we are demonstrating the very real needs of our citizens, the power of holistic, community-led public defense, and the solutions to ensure the rights, health and wellbeing of all New Orleanians are valued and upheld.”
