About Us

"By defending the poor we uphold the law…by upholding the law we defend the public."                                                             -  Bill White

The Office of the Public Defender for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit includes Sarasota, Manatee, and Desoto Counties in Florida. The elected Public Defender is the Honorable Larry L. Eger who has been your elected public defender since 2008. From a handful of staff in 1971, our Public Defender’s Office has expanded to be the largest criminal defense law firm in any of the three counties we serve. The four offices over the three counties have approximately 90 employees that always strive to champion the accused with the utmost professionalism and humanity.