Virginia Schlueter

Virginia Schlueter was appointed Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Louisiana in February of 1997. She was previously Deputy Federal Public Defender and has been associated with the office for twenty-five years. Virginia is a graduate of Louisiana State University Law Center and previously clerked for the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Virginia also serves on the Post-Conviction Representation Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association. She is a Governor-at-Large for the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit. She is also the Membership Chair of the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and Treasurer of the Criminal Law Section of the Federal Bar Association.

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Bob Barnard

Bob Barnard has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender since 1983. He previously worked for Mitchell Energy, the Orleans Parish Public Defender's Office (OIDP) and the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office. He also was an Assistant Trial Attorney for Exxon. Bob earned his JD from Tulane Law School.

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George Chaney, Jr.

George Chaney, Jr. recently joined our staff as an Assistant Federal Public Defender. George is a 1991 graduate of Tulane Law School. He has practiced law for twelve years, and has spent the last ten years specializing in criminal law. George has practiced in both Minnesota and Louisiana. In Minnesota, he served as an Assistant City Attorney and an Assistant Public Defender. In Louisiana, he served as a faculty teaching fellow at Tulane Law School. He has been practicing criminal defense work as a sole practitioner since 1993. He was also a member of the Orleans Parish Indigent Defender Capital Conflicts Panel and was a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel. George has tried over 150 jury trials.

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John Craft

John Craft has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender since 1987. He was previously staff appellate counsel for the 24th Judicial District Indigent Defender Board. John has been an adjunct faculty member at Loyola School of Law and a member of the Trial Advocacy Faculty at Tulane. He teaches criminal law to students in the paralegal program at Tulane. He currently serves as a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association Committee on post-conviction representation. John is a graduate of Tulane Law School.

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Valerie Jusselin

Valerie Jusselin has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender since 1999. Valerie previously held the position of Research and Writing Specialist in our office. Prior to her arrival in this office, she was an assistant district attorney in Orleans Parish and a partner in the New Orleans law firm of Sessions & Fishman. She also served on our CJA panel for three years. Valerie is a graduate of Loyola Law School.

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Roma Kent

Roma Kent has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender since 1987. She did two two-year stints as a staff attorney, reviewing criminal appeals, with both the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Roma has been a member of adjunct faculty at Tulane Law School since 1997. In May and September of 1999, she was a trial advocacy team teacher for public defenders in Venezuela.  Before she began practicing law, Roma was lieutenant with the New Orleans Police Department. She is a graduate of Loyola Law School.

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Robin Schulberg

Robin Schulberg is our resident Research and Writing Specialist. She joined our office in 2001.  Prior to joining our office, Robin was in private practice and a member of our CJA panel. She clerked for former Chief Judge Henry A. Politz for several years. Robin has taught legal research and writing at Tulane Law School and clinical education at Loyola Law School. Robin is a cum laude graduate of University of Chicago Law School.

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Gary Schwabe

Gary Schwabe has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender since 1990. He has defended individuals charged with a myriad of federal offenses including gambling, police corruption, public bribery, bank fraud, drug conspiracy, and various firearms violations. Gary earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans and his JD from the Louisiana State University Law Center.

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Donna Taylor

Donna Taylor has been with our office since 1990 as our Administrative Officer. She has over 18 years of Administrative experience. Donna has received extensive training in procurement, budgeting and accounting procedures for the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C. She also served on the Administration and Management Expert Panel of the Defender Services Advisory Group from January 1998 - December 1999.

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Barbara Daigle

Barbara Daigle is our Paralegal and CJA Panel Administrator, and has been with the Federal Public Defender since 1985. Barbara holds a Master's Degree in Applied Social Research from Texas Christian University and earned her Paralegal Certificate from Tulane University. She is commissioned as a Notary Public.

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Ed Casey

Ed Casey has been with the Federal Public Defender’s Office since 1996 as a staff investigator. He has eighteen years experience in the savings and loan industry, primarily dealing with real estate sales and mortgages. Ed served in the United States Marine Corps from 1963 through 1968 and is a Vietnam Veteran. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans and subsequently attended Loyola Law School.

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Heather Crain

Heather Crain is our Financial Administrator. She holds a Masters in Business Administration and recently graduated summa cum laude from Southeastern Louisiana University. She has extensive background knowledge of financial and accounting procedures. Heather will work directly with both our Administrative Officer and CJA Panel Administrator in procurement, budgeting, and the processing of CJA vouchers.

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Heidi Rousselle

Heidi Rousselle is a Legal Secretary with our office. She joined our office in 2002. Heidi previously worked as a legal secretary and paralegal in the private sector. She is a graduate of the University of New Orleans and also earned a paralegal certificate from UNO.

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Shalita Bradley

Shalita Bradley is our Case Manager. She previously worked for Hibernia Bank and was a legal secretary in a local law firm. Shalita is a student at Southern University of New Orleans majoring in criminal justice.

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Lamont Lewis

Lamont is our Computer Systems Administrator. He has over five years of experience in IT and is qualified as an A+ Certified Computer Technician and a CNA Certified NetWare Administrator (5.1). His previous experience includes Data Processing Manager for Imperial Trading Company, Computer Technician for Tulane University College and Network Administrator for Hailey McNamara Law Firm.

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Nora Chapkovich

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Stacey Wilson

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