Attorney Julie Smith Todman, Esq. leads the Office of the Territorial Public Defender (OTPD), a government-funded agency whose attorneys represent indigent individuals charged with crimes before the local courts of the U.S. Virgin Islands. She was named Chief Territorial Public Defender in February 2024. 

Her appointment as Chief comes after more than 30 years of providing zealous representation to her clients as an Assistant Territorial Public Defender, Deputy Chief, and Interim Chief. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder as well as a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Florida, Levin School of Law.

As Chief, Attorney Todman directs a team of advocates in providing the best possible defense for every client. She understands the challenges of representing someone through the most difficult moments of their life. Under her leadership, OTPD attorneys and staff seek to overcome these challenges by applying a holistic approach which meets clients with empathy and understanding while attacking their cases with passion and vigor.

Beyond the courtroom, Chief Todman believes in the principles of restorative justice and fights at every opportunity for advances that positively impact the lives of those whom she represents, their families, and their community. She has been an advocate for expanding the availability and ease of criminal record expungements, as well as reforming provisions of the current criminal code. She believes that fighting for improvements in the criminal justice system benefits all Virgin Islanders.

In her work as an advocate for those who cannot afford representation, Chief Todman proudly invokes the words of the late civil rights icon Representative John Lewis: “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble…”