1 /5 christine birnbaum: Absolutely appalling experience with this Public Defenders Office.
This office is, by far, the most unprofessional and downright dismissive institution I’ve ever encountered. I understand that this review is lengthy, but please bear with me—this needs to be said.
My boyfriend, who is currently unemployed and without any income, has been desperately trying to obtain legal representation through the Orange County Public Defender’s Office. Because he cannot afford private counsel, we expected this office to do what it’s supposed to: help people in need. Instead, we were met with arrogance, incompetence, and blatant disregard for due process.
From the very first phone call, the receptionist was astonishingly rude. After my boyfriend explained his financial situation—off the top of his head—she immediately cut him off and said he “makes too much money” to qualify. No documentation was reviewed. No application processed. No questions asked. Just a flat-out rejection based on nothing but a random number he gave her in conversation.
For comparison: Dutchess County had no problem reviewing his actual financial documents and confirming that he did qualify for a public defender. Orange County, however, insisted otherwise without any factual basis or verification. And every time we tried to follow up, we were stonewalled with the same vague answer: “He doesn’t qualify.” No explanation. No guidance. Just dismissal.
Fast forward to now—April 2025—and we have been in front of the judge about five times. Each time, we’ve explained that the Public Defender’s Office refuses to provide representation. The judge continues to push the case forward, knowing full well that my boyfriend is going in without an attorney. It feels like he’s being set up to fail.
To make matters worse, when he finally got in touch with the supervisor, Andrew Greer, we were shocked to find that he was just as rude and unhelpful as the secretary. Even after submitting documentation proving his financial hardship, Mr. Greer claimed he didn’t believe my boyfriend and demanded even more information—without saying what was needed. During an in-person visit, he not only refused to help, but he actually told my boyfriend and his mother that my boyfriend owed him an apology (for what exactly, we still dont know) and threatened to walk him over to the judge to get him arrested.
Then came the lie: Mr. Greer accused my boyfriend of telling the judge that he (Greer) had missed a court appearance—a claim my boyfriend never made. Basically, Mr Greer was supposed to meet my BF at his last court appearance to "go over his finances and romrell the judge that he is not representing him at this time." Long story short, my boyfriend was not able to make it to court that day at all, nor did he tell the judge anything along those lines Thankfully, he was able to call the court clerk and have them confirm that he never said that, completely exposing Mr. Greer’s falsehood.
And finally, the most disgusting part: Mr. Greer told my boyfriend that the only way he would receive public representation was if he were already in jail.
What kind of broken system is this? A person has to be incarcerated just to get legal help?
This office is a disgrace to the justice system. The people working here treat vulnerable individuals with contempt, lie to cover their mistakes, and put lives at risk by refusing to do their jobs. If this office won’t help the people it was built to serve, it needs to be shut down and rebuilt from the ground up—with people who actually care about justice and human rights.
