NORRISTOWN, PA — Christine P. Lora, Esquire, Chief Public Defender of Montgomery County, has been appointed to the state’s newly formed Indigent Defense Advisory Committee. This committee is tasked with overseeing the allocation of Pennsylvania’s inaugural public defense fund, a $7.5 million investment recently signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro.
The establishment of this committee and the funding it will supervise marks a crucial shift in the state’s approach to public defense. Until now, public defense funding was solely the responsibility of individual counties, with no state-level input. This left Pennsylvania as one of the few remaining states without state-funded public defense.
Jamila H. Winder, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, hailed the funding and committee formation as a significant step forward. “Christine is an excellent appointment to this statewide committee. She truly believes in strengthening indigent defense, so this appointment is great for Montgomery County, and great for Pennsylvania as a whole,” Winder said.
The committee’s responsibilities extend beyond simply overseeing the spending of the Indigent Defense Grant Program. It will also propose and adopt standards for county public defender offices across the state. A recommendations report from the committee is expected within two years.
Lora expressed her pride and eagerness to serve on this committee. “Every Pennsylvania resident deserves access to fair and adequate defense. To be able to work to improve indigent defense services across the Commonwealth is an undertaking I’m proud to be a part of,” she said.
Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija echoed Lora’s sentiments on the importance of fair representation. “Adequately funding for public defense and leveling the standards across all counties in Pennsylvania improves the equity in our justice system. We congratulate Christine on her appointment to continue her calling in public defense work, and we are proud that our Chief Defender was appointed to advise the Commonwealth,” Makhija stated.
Commissioner Thomas DiBello also expressed his confidence in Lora’s ability to guide indigent defense programs across the state. “Christine will be an excellent steward for indigent defense programs for the whole Commonwealth. I look forward to seeing how the work of the statewide committee develops, and the recommendations that will be forthcoming to set standard benchmarks across Pennsylvania,” DiBello said.
In June 2023, Lora assumed the role of Chief at Montgomery County’s Public Defender Office, following extensive reforms at the county level. These reforms aimed to ensure equitable access to legal defense for all residents, regardless of their financial means.
Prior to this appointment, Lora served as a senior trial attorney for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, amassing over eight years of experience. In her new position, she will join a distinguished group of four public defenders and three judges from across Pennsylvania, forming the Indigent Defense Advisory Committee.
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