Gina Bernard appointed to lead Rockdale Public Defender Office

CONYERS, GA— Gina Bernard has been appointed Circuit Public Defender for the Rockdale Judicial Circuit. She was sworn in today (Dec. 18).

Bernard will be responsible for managing all indigent defense cases in Rockdale County’s Juvenile, State, and Superior courts.

Prior to her appointment, Bernard served as managing attorney for the East Metro Regional Alternate Public Defender.

Georgia Public Defender Council Executive Director Omotayo Alli expressed her gratitude to and confidence in Bernard.

“I am so pleased that Ms. Bernard has accepted the challenge of this leadership role,” Alli said. “She is an experienced litigator and attorney manager with 25 years of legal experience and over a dozen years with GPDC.”

Rockdale is one of 44 public defender offices in Georgia overseen by the GPDC.

In addition to her years of experience as a public defender, Bernard has also served as a prosecutor, and private attorney. She was a prosecutor in the City of Atlanta Solicitor’s Office, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, and the DeKalb County Solicitor’s office. She spent six years in private practice before joining the Georgia Public Defender Council in July of 2011.

Bernard graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. degree in Hospitality Administration, and from the University of Southern California with a B.A. degree in Finance. She is a 1997 graduate of Georgia State University College of Law.

Bernard is the mother of two college students.

Established by the Georgia Indigent Defense Act of 2003, the GPDC provides indigent defense consistent with the guarantees of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and the Constitution of the United States for more than 85 percent of persons charged with crimes in Georgia. More at Georgia Public Defender Council.

Photo above: Rockdale Probate Judge Gary Washington administers the oath of office to Rockdale Circuit Public Defender Gina Bernard on Dec. 18, 2023

(L-R) Rockdale Probate Judge Gary Washington, GPDC Executive Director Omotayo Alli, Rockdale Circuit Public Defender Gina Bernard, attorneys Albert Myers and Wendi Armstrong. Washington, Myers, and Armstrong are members of the Rockdale Public Defender Supervisory Panel.