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Public Defender Frank Dunham, Jr. of the Eastern District of Virginia: An Overview

published March 25, 2023

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( 67 votes, average: 4.9 out of 5)
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Summary

Frank Dunham Jr. is an esteemed Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA). He has been practicing law for over 35 years, the last 27 of which have been as a defender in the EDVA. He is known for his unwavering dedication to his clients, his vast experience, and his commitment to justice.


Frank Dunham Jr. graduated from the University of Virginia in 1977 with a J.D. He was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1978 and began practicing law with the Commonwealth of Virginia, representing criminal defendants in various jurisdictions. He became a Federal Public Defender in the EDVA in 1993.

Frank Dunham Jr. is dedicated to the cause of justice and fairness for his clients. He is well regarded in the legal community for his voluntary pro bono work, taking cases of those who cannot afford proper representation. He is noted for his ability to navigate complex cases, equipping each client with the best possible defense.

In his work as a Federal Public Defender, Frank Dunham Jr. has undertaken many challenging cases. He has fought on behalf of his clients tirelessly, striving for the most favorable outcome for each. His sharp mind, vast experience, and commitment to justice have helped him secure wins for clients who otherwise would have been without a defense.

Frank Dunham Jr. is a respected leader in the EDVA legal community, receiving numerous awards for his work as a defender. He is a well-regarded mentor, taking on volunteer students and sharing his wisdom and expertise with them. He is also a generous donor to various causes, including legal aid funds and community organizations.

Frank Dunham Jr. is an exemplary Federal Public Defender in the EDVA. His dedication to his clients and commitment to justice have made him a name synonymous with fairness and excellence in the legal community. His long-term experience, dedicated pro bono work, and philanthropy make him an asset to the state of Virginia.
 

Frank Dunham, Jr.: Federal Public Defender of Eastern District of Virginia

Frank W. Dunham, Jr. is a Federal Public Defender of the Eastern District of Virginia. He has been serving in this position since June 11, 1988. The Office of the Federal Public Defenders (OFPD) is a part of the United States judicial system and provides legal representation to individuals who are accused of federal crimes. Mr. Dunham has been using his expertise to provide quality legal services to those in need.
 

Frank Dunham, Jr.'s Background and Education

Frank Dunham, Jr. received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972 from Wake Forest University, and his Juris Doctorate degree in 1975 from the University of Virginia. Prior to being appointed to the position of Federal Public Defender, he was an assistant professor of law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Mr. Dunham was also a partner at the law firm of Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore in Roanoke, Virginia, where he practiced from 1979 to 1988.
 

Prior Professional Experience of Frank Dunham, Jr.

Before becoming the Federal Public Defender, Mr. Dunham worked for four years as an assistant professor of law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. During this time, he taught both criminal law and criminal procedure and participated in faculty workshops, seminars, lectures, and moot court competitions. Before that, he was a partner at the law firm of Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore in Roanoke, Virginia, and a Senior Assistant Public Defender for the City of Roanoke.
 

Frank Dunham, Jr.'s Career as the Federal Public Defender

Mr. Dunham was appointed as Federal Public Defender on June 11, 1988. He is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and he has also served as the president of the National Association of Federal Defenders. His main responsibility is to provide legal representation to individuals who are accused of federal crimes. This includes providing legal advice, advocating in court, and handling appeals. In addition, he is also responsible for supervising the activities of the OFPD.

<<When Frank Dunham, Jr., started the first federal public defender's office in the Eastern District of Virginia, he knew he would be handling some high-profile cases. He didn't expect that he would be defending two accused terrorists, one with admitted links to al-Qaeda.

But Dunham was up to the challenge. Like all good attorneys, he believes in due process and the right to a fair trial. Although Hamdi was never charged with a crime, he was held for almost three years. Hamdi was due to be released on the condition that he renounce his U.S. citizenship - he was born in Louisiana to a Saudi oil worker - return to Saudi Arabia, and restrict his future travel, among other stipulations.

Dunham says it was a mistake to hold Hamdi for so long without charge and described him as "a nice young man" who was stuck in Afghanistan after the borders were sealed after Sept. 11. Dunham said he would happily have Hamdi stay in his home.

"I don't think he has got a mean or nasty bone in his body," Dunham told LawCrossing. "I don't think anybody's got anything to worry about from him. I know they don't. I'd bet everything I have on that."

Dunham, who went to law school at night while working as a Naval architect and engineer managing the construction of new destroyers, says he has been swamped with Hamdi's case and also the case of notorious terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged with direct involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Before I could get the offices open, I got appointed to represent Mr. Moussaoui; and while I was still struggling to get the offices open, I picked up the Hamdi case. So those are the two cases that have taken the most of my time," Dunham said. Although he is briefed on other federal cases in his district he has not "been deeply involved."

Dunham, 62, says he knew almost nothing about the federal defender's system before he was asked to set up the new office. He had been in private practice doing criminal defense work for 23 years with Cohen, Gettings & Dunham in Arlington, VA, and before that he spent seven years as an assistant U.S. Attorney.

He says he is very impressed with the federal defender's system and that he often thinks court-appointed clients get a better legal team than they would if they hired an attorney from a small firm.

"Somebody could come in [to my private practice] and hire me, but they might not be able to afford an investigator or something like that," he said. "We do have resources here, so we are able to provide not what I would consider a defense full of thrills — not a Johnnie Cochran or a Mark Geragos kind of defense — but we do give people an adequate defense; and the fact that they don't have money I don't think handicaps them."

Dunham envisioned using his Naval engineering background to go into government-contracts law after he graduated with honors from the Columbus School of Law in 1970. But after a clerkship with Eastern District Judge Oren Lewis, he was hooked on criminal law. So he accepted the job with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He became a Naval architect because the Navy helped pay for his education, but he never lost his desire to go to law school. He took a 50-percent pay cut to work for Judge Lewis and credits hard work and an understanding wife for his success.

"I've always thought that engineering was a great training for law. You learn how to think logically when you are training to be an engineer."

Dunham says one of the best things about founding the public defender's office was that starting from scratch allowed him to hire whomever he wanted and not inherit any bureaucracy or office politics. The office employs 23 lawyers (two working as legal writers) among its 44 employees. He says his assistants average 150 cases a year in federal court, most involving drugs and firearms and often both.

Defending people like Moussaoui - who has accused Dunham of conspiring against him - has some pitfalls: some people don't think Moussaoui deserves a trial, let alone a fair one. Dunham says that aside from the occasional crank email, most people support what he is doing.

"We need to be sure that our Constitution is applied to them just like it is to everybody else. Generally, those are the kinds of remarks I get, and I get it from across the spectrum. It doesn't matter their politics," he said. "In fact, I am surprised at the deep and widespread belief in this country [that] it doesn't matter who you are, you still get your Constitutional rights."

Dunham has asked the federal appeals court to reconsider their decision to ban the defense from interviewing al-Qaeda detainees and their decision to allow the government to seek the death penalty against Moussaoui.

Moussaoui is accused of conspiring with al-Qaeda in the Sept. 11 attacks. He was arrested in August 2001 after staff at a Minneapolis flight school became suspicious of his behavior.

Dunham thinks that if Hamdi is released, it could help the so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh get some time knocked off his 20-year sentence. Lindh was convicted in federal court, but Dunham did not represent him because Lindh retained his own counsel.

"That was all done while probably the dust was still settling in New York City from the attacks on 9/11," Dunham said. "Sometimes when we get further away from things, we look back on them with a better perspective, and maybe everybody thought John Walker Lindh was getting a good deal when he got 20 years back in the hysteria of that time. Maybe on calm reflection everybody ought to think, 'Well, maybe that's a little stiff for this kid who was not al-Qaeda, was not a terrorist.'"

published March 25, 2023

( 67 votes, average: 4.9 out of 5)
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