Administrative Investigator- Public Defender’s Office, Adult Division

The Travis County Public Defender’s Office (PDO) is a comprehensive public defender office envisioned to be client-centered, independent, and innovative to the needs of Travis County residents. Consistent with nationally recognized best practices, the PDO provides high-quality holistic defense representation and other support to people, including juveniles and those living with serious mental illness/intellectual or developmental disability, accused of criminal offenses via its three divisions
- General, Juvenile and Mental Health.

PDO Investigators are a critical part of the defense team as they work in concert with public defender attorneys to investigate allegations of suspected violations of criminal statutes and possible legal defenses to and mitigation against those allegations and use their findings to provide information to help guide the course and outcome of client representation.

* The position may be filled before the closing date. Applications will be reviewed and selected candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis.*

This job is in the Court Services job family. It is distinguished from the Investigator job in that it does not require TCOLE certification. Requires working irregular hours and/or occasionally traveling out of town/state and stay overnight as individual investigations demand.

• Plan and conduct complete investigations of criminal allegations and circumstances of clients lived experiences, including:
  • Identifying, evaluating and collecting information, data and evidence;
  • Visiting scenes, developing leads, contacts and sources of information;
  • Interviewing clients;
  • Locating and/or interviewing witnesses, complainants, family members, law enforcement officials, representatives of agencies and others across a wide variety of settings to gather statements and information on events surrounding allegations and/or relevant mitigating circumstances;
  • Serving subpoenas;
  • Taking photographs and measurements; and
  • Collecting and evaluating physical and testimonial evidence.
• Present orally and in writing findings of investigation, including:
  • Discussion and consultation with attorney and other members of the defense team;
  • Maintenance of complete and accurate records of investigative activities;
  • Preparation of written reports and statements;
  • Drawing diagrams to scale; and
  • Preparation of demonstrative evidence for use in proceedings related to the allegations such as diagrams, charts, and photographs.
• Appear as a witness in proceedings related to the criminal allegations to present facts and information discovered during investigation, including facts and information relevant to legal defenses to and mitigation against the allegations.
• All other duties as required.

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Criminal Justice, Forensics, Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Journalism, History or related field. Verifiable training or work/internship experience (cumulative minimum of 300 hours) performing investigative duties or intensive research in the field of law, media/journalism, public health/welfare, human/civil rights, education, social sciences, public policy/government/community development or related field.

OR, Four years of verifiable experience as a licensed investigator or licensed administrative investigator. Experience must include performing investigative work in connection with administrative, juvenile petitions, criminal and/or civil crimes, complaints and/or violations.

OR, Any combination of education and experience that has been achieved and is equivalent to the stated education and experience and required knowledge, skills, and abilities sufficient to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of this job.

Valid Texas driver’s license.

Special Requirements:
Must be at least 21 years of age. Willingness to work irregular hours and/or occasionally travel out of town/state and stay overnight as individual investigations demand.

Please attach resume to online application.

Spanish fluency, written and oral strongly preferred.

Applic…