About me
Elizabeth Cadiz is Chief Public Defender at the Aurora Municipal Public Defender Office in Aurora, Colorado. The Aurora Municipal Public Defender is one of only a handful of Municipal Public Defender Offices in the Country. NLADA published a report on the office in 2021 after conducting a 360 assesment of the system under prior Chief Doug Wilson, who Elizabeth followed as Chief in 2023. See https://www.nlada.org/review-aurora-sept-2021 and See https://www.auroragov.org/news/whats_new/new_chief_public_defender_appointed.
The City of Aurora is both a suburb of Denver and the 3rd largest City in the State of Colorado. Aurora continues to have the most diverse population in Colorado.The Aurora Public Defender (APDO) has a staff of 20 attorneys and support staff, joined by several contractors, committed to the Advocacy, Protection and Defense of those accused of Municipal Code violations.
Fortunate to have participated in Cincinnati's first Indigent Defense Clinic lead by Janet Moore (of University of Cincinnati) and David Singleton (of Ohio Justice and Policy Center), Elizabeth has been committed to protecting the Bill of Rights and ensuring indigent clients are afforded the highest level of representation promised by the state and federal constitutions since law school. After graduating from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 2008, her practice began as a private and public criminal defender in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2008. After admission to the Colorado Bar, she began as a Deputy Public Defender in Aurora in 2012.
Elizabeth and her office are committed to defending Aurora's accused and fighting local efforts that criminalize homelessness and behavioral health conditions through diversion and engagement with local providers.
