Joseph P. Van Heest

Office of the Public Defender

Mr. Van Heest received his B.S. in Management from Syracuse University and his J.D. from The Catholic University of America School of Law in Washington, DC. He formerly served as law clerk to Senior United States District Judge Harold Albritton, spent four years as an Assistant Federal Defender, and twelve years in private practice in Montgomery. In 2010 he was appointed Public Defender of Tuscaloosa County. Mr. Van Heest is a past-president of the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Federal Bar Association (Montgomery Chapter), and graduate of the National Criminal Defense College Trial Practice Institute in Macon, Georgia. He is a frequent speaker at CLE events on the topics of criminal law and criminal defense.