Carlos J. Martinez, the first Hispanic elected as Public Defender in the U.S., was elected public defender in November, 2008. Mr. Martinez has represented indigent clients at trial and on appeal in Miami, Florida, and Bellingham, Washington. Mr. Martinez manages an office of almost 400 employees and volunteers, handling approximately 100,000 cases each year. He has been with the Public Defender's office for 20 years, 14 of them as a top administrator.

Mr. Martinez has instituted numerous initiatives such as Juvenile Justice CPR (Charting a Path to Redemption), a legal reform initiative designed to help troubled kids achieve the American dream, the "Redemption Project" (helping ex-felons regain their civil and employment rights), "Play It Smart" (teaching young people how to interact with law enforcement), "Consequences Aren’t Minor" (educating adolescents and adults about the direct and collateral consequences of illegal behavior and arrest), and the Equal Justice Roundtable (a faith community collaboration to address social injustice and improve public safety).

Mr. Martinez has been a leader in addressing the crisis of minority children being cycled from the school house to the jail house, protecting the confidentiality of juvenile records and ending the indiscriminate shackling of detained children in juvenile courtrooms. He serves on the National Institute of Corrections’ Advisory Committee on Evidence Based Decision Making for Local Criminal Justice Systems, the Florida Blueprint Commission on Juvenile Justice, and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Zero Tolerance Task Force. He previously served on the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Council from 2009 to 2010.