Pennsylvania Juvenile Defenders

Website made possible with the generous support of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Northeast Regional Defender Center

In order to increase the capacity of the grassroots juvenile defense bar across the country, the National Center incorporated into its design the development of nine Regional Defender Centers. The Northeast Region includes the following four states: Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Helpful Links

Juvenile Law Center
National Juvenile Defender Center
The Juvenile Act of PA

State and Local Defender Sites

Juvenile Special Defense Unit

The Juvenile Special Defense Unit of the Defender Association is responsible for the representation of all those clients, ages 15, 16 and 17 whose cases have been Directly Filed into Adult Court since 1996, under Sec. 6302 of the PA Juvenile Act.

The Unit, which consists of a supervisor and four other attorneys, three social workers, two investigators and support staff, handles all aspects of Direct File Juvenile (DFJ) cases, including Decertification Hearings. For those clients charged as DFJ’s, The Unit also picks up any outstanding juvenile cases they may have.

As part of the extensive preparation necessary for the Decertification process, Unit Social Workers prepare a comprehensive psycho-social report and arrange for their clients to be evaluated by forensic psychologists who contract with the Association on a case-by-case basis.

Unit personnel remain on the case whether it stays in the Adult Court system or is returned to Juvenile Court.

Any Defenders needing assistance with or having questions about Direct File Juvenile matters should contact:

David C. Rosen, Esq.
Chief, Juvenile Special Defense Unit
Phone: 267.765.6762
E-mail