The Office of the Ohio Public Defender (OPD) is the state agency responsible for providing legal representation and other services to people accused or convicted of a crime who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

Our Mission:Advocating. Fighting. Helping.
Our VisionA Fair Justice System.
Our ValuesCompassion. Dignity. Equity. Integrity. Service. Community.

We are committed to building a work environment where all team members have a voice and can embrace our differences to innovate service to the public in our pursuit of fairness and justice for all people.

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The Office of the Ohio Public Defender (OPD) is seeking three dedicated professionals to serve as a Mitigation Investigation Specialists in the Mitigation and Investigation Department, Appellate Services Division. The mission of the department is to provide a thorough investigation in an ethical and honest manner to ensure quality representation of indigent clients. You will join a team of nine investigators and work both independently and within defense teams, regularly interacting with other department members, attorneys, core support staff, clients, witnesses, and experts.

In this position, you will conduct and/or lead mitigation investigation through bio-psycho-social field investigation in the trial, post-conviction, federal habeas, and clemency phase of capital cases, and conduct mitigation investigation for non-capital cases, including but not limited to cases that involve juveniles being tried as adults and who receive lifelong prison sentences. You will also conduct fact investigations on trial and post-trial litigation and conduct and/or act as lead on complex and specialized criminal investigations on felony, capital, and juvenile cases at the trial, post-conviction, and federal levels as well as at clemency.

A successful candidate will have passion for working with a large team and assisting our diverse clientele who are facing the challenges of poverty and other obstacles beyond socio-economic factors. A successful candidate will also be detail oriented, a meticulous recordkeeper, creative, and have strong interpersonal skills. A successful candidate will take initiative advancing investigations, presenting ideas, discovering and planning investigation pathways, and analyzing information utilizing critical thinking skills. The preferred candidate will have experience conducting both bio-psychosocial history and fact investigations, and have knowledge of topics related to forensics, fact investigation, mitigation, mental health disorders, intellectual disability, and youth.

The position requires you to regularly travel throughout the state of Ohio and occasionally requires you to travel outside the state. Weekly car travel averages two days a week but is variable and can be more depending on need. This position will require you to transport witnesses and team members when traveling together. In this position, you must be able to provide your own transportation. The agency maintains fleet vehicles for you to reserve; use of a fleet vehicle requires evidence of valid driver’s license and personal auto insurance coverage.

Essential duties performed by the position include but are not limited to:

• Locate, contact, and interview witnesses, other suspects, family members, employers, medical or psychological service providers, and others to obtain information pertaining to the case.
• Conduct lengthy interviews with clients, client’s immediate and extended family members, spouses/partners, friends, and education, medical, mental health, legal, and agency personnel who encountered the client and their family.
• Gather and analyze records (including but not limited to school, medical, mental health, employer, legal, military, and social services documentation) to provide detailed medical, psychological, sociological, cultural, or other insights into the client’s bio-psycho-social history.
• Obtain and analyze other anecdotal and documentary evidence relevant to the client’s history and their environmental and cultural background.
• Investigate the facts and circumstances of the alleged offense(s), gather documentation to support the testimony of expert and lay witnesses, obtain and notarize affidavits, and gather and organize physical documentary evidence.
• Travel throughout Ohio and outside the state as necessary to locate, interview, and investigate witnesses, evidence, materials, and records. Identify, locate, contact and interview suspects, claimants, former employers and coworkers, attorneys, witnesses, federal, state and municipal agencies. Assist with transporting witnesses.
• Prepare complex reports of interviews and findings and prepare detailed timelines for use in trial and appellate level case preparations and presentations.
• Identify the need for experts and assist in locating and working with defense experts.
• Assist in the preparation and presentations for trials and hearings and also conduct interviews with clients for death row client clemency hearings.
• Consult with internal and external attorneys and experts to develop trial and appellate sentencing-phase themes and theories of the case. Assist with preparing witnesses or clients for testimony.
• Lead brainstorming and strategizing discussions to develop mitigation presentation of defense.
• Participate in mentoring and training and assist in providing educational experiences for volunteer students.

The Mitigation Investigation Specialist position is assigned to the State of Ohio’s OCSEA Schedule, Pay Range 32, presented below in table format. Starting pay will be at Step 1 unless required by contract/legislation; Candidates with exceptional qualifications may be considered for higher starting pay. Our steps give a standard path for earnings growth: you move to the next step after 6 months and annually thereafter. We typically have fiscal year Cost of Living Adjustments as well.

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees*. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website! Our benefits package includes:

• Medical Coverage
• Free Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance premiums after completion of eligibility period
• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
• Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care leave
• Education and Development Opportunities (Employee Development Funds, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and more)
• Public Retirement Systems ( such as OPERS, STRS, SERS, and HPRS) & Optional Deferred Compensation ( Ohio Deferred Compensation)

*Benefits eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. The Agency Contact listed above will be able to provide specific benefits information for this position.

30 mos. exp. conducting mitigation or criminal fact investigations.

-Or completion of undergraduate core program in behavioral sciences (e.g., social work, sociology, criminal justice, psychology); 6 mos. exp. in criminal investigations.

-Or equivalent of Minimum Class Qualification For Employment noted above.

Job Skills: Investigation; Analyzation; Attention to Detail; Collaboration; Establishing Relationships; Written Communication

Intentional omission of relevant information, falsification, or misrepresentation of information on the application will disqualify the applicant. In addition, such intentional acts are grounds for immediate termination of an employee.

Final candidates selected for this position will be required to undergo a background check. Criminal convictions do not necessarily preclude an applicant from consideration for a position. An individual assessment of an applicant's prior criminal convictions will be made before excluding an applicant from consideration.

Ohio is a Disability Inclusion State and strives to be a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The State of Ohio is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws.

The State of Ohio is a drug-free workplace which prohibits the use of marijuana (recreational marijuana/non-medical cannabis). Please note, this position may be subject to additional restrictions pursuant to the State of Ohio Drug-Free Workplace Policy (HR-39), and as outlined in the posting.