The York County Public Defender’s Office represents youth between the ages of 10 and 18 in York County Juvenile Delinquency Court. The youth must be charged with misdemeanor or felony offenses. We do not represent youth charged only with summary offenses and/or traffic citations.

Our office receives referrals from the York County Juvenile Probation Department. In addition, youth and/or their parents/guardians may contact our office and ask about possible representation in York County Juvenile Delinquency Court. There are NO income qualifications for representation in youth.

Raymond Ortwein, Sr. Assistant Public Defender, is the supervising attorney in the Public Defender Office’s Juvenile Unit. Along with Attorney Ortwein, the Juvenile Unit has four (2) attorneys dedicated to representing youth. They are Traci McPate, Esquire and Kristin Bellan, Esquire.

The following websites can provide additional information about juvenile delinquency and school law matters.