For the first time in more than a decade, a new face will lead the Harris County Public Defender’s Office.
Commissioners appointed Judge Genesis Draper of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 12 to lead the public defender’s office as its chief public defender Thursday. Draper was most recently elected in 2022, and has overseen the 12th criminal court since she first took office in 2019. Her appointment takes effect in July, when she will officially replace Alex Bunin, who has held the position since it was created in November 2010.
“We were appointed to the bench around the same time, and we just immediately bonded. You are a warrior for justice. You’re a warrior for change,” Commissioner Lesley Briones said at Thursday’s Commissioners Court meeting. “You are a person of deep integrity, deep authenticity, and you have the experience of being a federal public defender, a criminal court at law judge, and the conviction that we need to take our public defender’s office to the next level so that we can take at least 50% of the cases.”
Bunin is set to retire in December, and will work with Draper in the meantime as the office transitions under her leadership, according to a Thursday news release. Commissioners are expected to appoint a replacement for Draper to preside over the 12th criminal court in the coming months.
“Justice depends on not just the law, but people being willing to defend it. I appreciate the opportunity to do so,” Draper said in a statement. “We are living through a defining moment, where principles of due process and equal protection are being tested. I’m honored and privileged to join this fight, and excited to join the incredible team at the Public Defender’s Office.”
Draper’s appointment came more than two years after Briones first requested the county look into expanding the PDO, which in recent months has become a major priority for commissioners as ballooning indigent defense costs burden Harris County’s expected $270 million budget gap.
Officials hope that by expanding the PDO, the office can take more cases previously assigned to private attorneys, who are often appointed in place of a public defender at a significantly higher cost to the county. A March analysis conducted by data analysis firm January Advisors found that around 85% of defendants who cannot afford an attorney are assigned a private attorney as opposed to a public defender.
I’m a longtime fan of the public defender’s office, which does a terrific job at a lower cost to the county than the old (and still way too prevalent) way of hiring private attorneys for indigent defendants. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Alex Bunin and Genesis Draper, they’re both good people. Bunin built a great department, and it’s in good hands going forward. Draper’s bench will be filled by another appointment from Commissioner’s Court, and that person will be on the ballot in 2026, which is when Draper’s term expires anyway. Congrats and good luck to all.