Orange County’s public defender is set to retire next month after a 28-year career in the department.
Martin Schwarz joined the Public Defender’s Office in 1997 and took over as public defender in 2020. He’s slated to retire on July 11 after announcing his departure late last month.
“Serving as the Public Defender has been the honor of a lifetime and leaving this position is far and away the most difficult decision of my career,” Schwarz wrote in a letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors on May 28. “To this amazing County, and this wonderful department, I owe everything.”
The Board of Supervisors has already appointed a replacement through a unanimous vote during the June 10 meeting.
Chief Deputy Public Defender Sara Nakada is set to take up the public defender position on July 12. The Board of Supervisors is expected to consider her employment agreement during the upcoming June 24 meeting.
“Chief Deputy Public Sara Nakada is a phenomenal leader who has worked side by side with me on all major issues facing the Department in recent years,” Schwarz wrote, “including implementation of the CARE Act, Proposition 36, supplemental federal funding for the Department’s Dependency Unit, data exchanges with the Court and District Attorney, expansion of Mental Health Diversion and Military Diversion, body worn camera workload mitigation and newly mandated post-conviction work.”
It comes after former Orange County Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders also retired earlier this year.
Sanders and Schwarz were both in office during Orange County’s “jailhouse snitch scandal” that lasted several years — after allegations that the county district attorney’s office and sheriff’s department unlawfully used jailhouse informants to gather information about defendants without disclosing the information to defense attorneys.
[Read: Federal Investigators Call Out ‘Systematic’ Rights Violations in OC Jailhouse Informant Scandal]
In 2020, the Public Defender’s Office butted heads with the county’s top prosecutor after Sanders alleged DA Todd Spitzer buried information about the informants to protect prosecutors who failed to turn over evidence to defendants.
Spitzer accused Sanders of attempting to further his “political and personal agenda” through the court filing and expressed disappointment that Schwarz allowed Sanders to file the motion.
In January, Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes agreed to settle lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice that found prosecutors and deputy sheriffs regularly violated defendants’ civil rights in the county jail, ending a nearly decade-long investigation into their offices.
[Read: OC DA and Sheriff Settle with Feds Over Violating Prisoners’ Constitutional Rights]
Schwarz wrote that he chose the July 11 retirement date in order for the county to complete the 2025-2026 budget process and various facilities upgrades before his departure.
“Personally, the most important factor in my decision to step down is my confidence in the executive management team at the Public Defender’s Office to lead the Department into the future,” he wrote.
Supervisor Katrina Foley congratulated Schwarz on his retirement and thanked him for his service in a recent social media post.
“As this model County employee enters retirement, I commend him for his dedication to excellence, devoting a 28-year career in the OC Public Defender’s Office to upholding a more compassionate, humane, equitable justice system for all,” she wrote.
The Public Defender’s Office also plays a crucial role in CARE Court — the state’s program to help homeless and mentally ill people through court-mandated services that was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 and rolled out in Orange County in 2023.
Public defenders are appointed to represent individuals navigating CARE Court evaluations and hearings.
[Read: Orange County Leaders Question CARE Court Promises]
“There is no question in my mind that the County is stronger and its residents are better served with a strong Public Defender’s Office which pushes for a more humane and equitable justice system for all,” Schwarz wrote, “and I appreciate the support the Board and CEO’s Office has provided to me and the Department.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.