Louisville is located in Jefferson County and is the largest city in the state. It is situated on the Ohio River, and the downtown area is anchored by a newly restored riverfront park and entertainment center. The city itself developed outward from the river and around a beautiful metropolitan parks system designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Louisville is a city of many and diverse neighborhoods with wonderful and historic architecture, both residential and commercial. Cultural offerings are numerous and varied, including the Kentucky Center for the Arts, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, the Speed Museum of Art, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Louisville Science Center, among others. Louisville is also home to the 2-time NCAA Champion University of Louisville Cardinals basketball team coached by Rick Pitino, Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, the PGA Championship Valhalla Golf Course, the Louisville Slugger Baseball Museum, and the soon-to-be completed Muhammad Ali Center. Louisville and Jefferson County are consistently ranked at or near the top in national surveys measuring cost of living, quality of life, and best places to work and reside.

The Louisville-Jefferson County Public Defender Corporation is a non-profit organization rendering legal services to indigent adults and juveniles accused of crimes, status offenses or subjected to involuntary hospitalization due to mental illness. The office functions as a full-service law firm providing defense representation in all state courts at every level, as well as appellate advocacy in both the state and federal courts. The office was organized in 1972, and enabling legislation was passed that same year creating a statewide public defender system. Staff members of the Jefferson County Public Defender have received numerous professional awards and the office has been nationally recognized as a model program. Among other noteworthy achievements, its attorneys have argued seven (7) cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, including Batson v. Kentucky.

Daniel T. Goyette is the Chief Public Defender for Jefferson County and has served as Executive Director of the Louisville-Jefferson County Public Defender Corporation since 1982. A former Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, he was a member of the original Career Criminal Bureau. Dan is a past president of both the Louisville Bar Association and the Louisville Bar Foundation. He has served as a member of the ABA House of Delegates and the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Since 1979, he has been a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and he has lectured on a variety of legal issues and topics both locally and nationally. Dan is a charter Board member of the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a past president of the Kentucky Academy of Justice. Among other organizations, he has chaired Citizens for Better Judges and Leadership Education. He is a past recipient of the Department of Public Advocacy’s Gideon Award and the American Bar Association’s Dorsey Award for his outstanding service as Public Defender. Dan is a graduate of Marquette University (1971), the Rome Center of Liberal Arts, and the University of Oklahoma School of Law (1974).