News Archive

The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has chosen Juval Scott, '02, to be the next Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Virginia. She is awaiting the confirmation process to conclude before she takes on her new role.

“It is humbling to be chosen to serve," Scott said. "I look forward to returning to a defender office to work alongside amazing colleagues and continuing to advance federal criminal defense practice in the Western District of Virginia. We will work hard to tell our clients' stories, vigorously protect their constitutional rights, and bring balance to a system that is often lopsided.”

Scott served as an assistant federal defender, serving Indiana's Southern District in the Indiana Federal Community Defenders' office for seven years. From there, she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to work as an assistant federal defender there.

Her current role is an attorney advisor in the Administrative office of the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C. In the position, she trains the nation's more than 13,000 federal defense attorneys. In addition to disseminating information that federal defense attorneys need in order to defend their clients, she manages a hotline for attorneys to get resources, and travels the country conducting training seminars and presenting lectures. The training seminars range from day-long events to the six-day Trial Skills Academy, the most recent of which was staged at IU McKinney during Summer 2018.