William Lee Robinson - Career As A Circuit Public Defender

Career As A Circuit Public Defender

In 2004 Lee Robinson was selected and is now serving as the Circuit Public Defender of the Macon Judicial Circuit, which includes Bibb, Peach and Crawford Counties. Robinson was presented the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service by the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. Lee Robinson was the founding president of the Georgia Association of Circuit Public Defenders, an organization established to provide an independent voice of the Circuit Public Defenders to the public and the Georgia General Assembly. Lee has seventeen Assistant Public Defenders working on his team now, and anticipates eighteen Assistant Public Defenders when the office is fully staffed.

Robinson was selected as the inaugural president of the Georgia Association of Circuit Public Defenders at its organizational meeting on February 26, 2005. The association’s mission is to promote the interests of and issues that concern the various Circuit Public Defenders and Conflict Defenders throughout the State of Georgia. Among many accomplishments, Robinson’s tenure is perhaps most significant in that he was instrumental in ushering a “for cause” standard for removal of Circuit Public Defenders, thereby offering much needed protection from political and other pressures. Another important milestone during Robinson’s leadership was the selection of a Circuit Public Defender to serve as the Circuit Public Defenders’ representative on the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. With no protocol in place, Robinson provided valuable guidance in designing the procedure for this selection that remains in place today. Robinson also championed development of a legislative committee to engage in advocacy with the legislature and advance the causes of Circuit Public Defenders before that body. Robinson’s importance to the development of the Georgia Association of Circuit Public Defenders can be seen by his continued presence on the Executive Committee by each succeeding president.

While working as a Circuit Public Defender, Lee was honored by the State Bar with the Eighth Annual Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service presentation on January 30, 2007.