New Jersey / Office of the Public Defender

Agency file

Office of the Public Defender

Source file: New Jersey — YourMoney State Payroll / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Office of the Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.

In 2024, this agency had 672 employees with median total compensation of $86,980; the highest distinct record was $185,424.

Year: 2024
Total payroll: $60.2M
Employees: 672
Median total: $86,980
Highest record: $185,424

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$223$162,947+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2024 total compensation is spread across the 672 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($86,980) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $87,991 (98%)
Overtime — $40 (0%)
Other — $1,486 (2%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$45,849

$62,261

$86,980

$115,845

$136,555

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $136,555 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $45,849. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Assistant Deputy Public Defender 2

175 · $109,634

Invstgr 1 Publ Defndr

108 · $74,815

Assistant Deputy Public Defender 3

67 · $138,910

Assistant Deputy Public Defender 1

56 · $85,071

Legal Secretary 2

56 · $47,864

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2023	$57.6M —	720 —	$79,789 —
2024	$60.2M ▲ 4.5%	672 ▼ 6.7%	$86,980 ▲ 9.0%

Record list

Employees

Page 2

Michele Gallagher

Legal Secretary 1/Office of the Public Defender

2024 total comp

$61,935

Sub-department: Office of the Public Defender
Base pay: $61,241
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $695
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $61,935
Hire date: null
Union / bargaining unit: Administrative and Clerical Services (Cwa) - Unit A
Pay basis: Annual
Middle name: null

Source-specific fields

As-of Date: Dec 31, 2024
Calendar Quarter: 4
Full Name: Gallagher, Michele
Paid Section Description: null
Payroll ID: 116386
Record Type: Master
Salary Hourly Rate: $62,572
Year-to-Date Earnings: $61,935

Michele Gallagher works as a Legal Secretary 1 for Office of the Public Defender within Office of the Public Defender. Their hire date on record is null. Michele earned $61,935 in 2024. Union affiliation: Administrative and Clerical Services (Cwa) - Unit A.

Priscilla Klinkerth

Invstgr 1 Publ Defndr/Office of the Public Defender

2024 total comp

$61,825

Sub-department: Office of the Public Defender
Base pay: $61,153
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $672
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $61,825
Hire date: null
Union / bargaining unit: Professional Unit (Cwa) - Unit P
Pay basis: Annual
Middle name: null

Source-specific fields

As-of Date: Dec 31, 2024
Calendar Quarter: 4
Full Name: Klinkerth, Priscilla
Paid Section Description: null
Payroll ID: 152862
Record Type: Master
Salary Hourly Rate: $65,036
Year-to-Date Earnings: $61,825

At Office of the Public Defender, Priscilla Klinkerth serves as a Invstgr 1 Publ Defndr within Office of the Public Defender. Records show a hire date of null. Their 2024 pay totaled $61,825. Union affiliation: Professional Unit (Cwa) - Unit P.

Maxi Blaise-Kwarteng

Assistant Deputy Public Defender 1/Office of the Public Defender

2024 total comp

$61,577

Sub-department: Office of the Public Defender
Base pay: $58,345
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $3,233
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $61,577
Hire date: null
Union / bargaining unit: Professional Unit (Cwa) - Unit P
Pay basis: Annual
Middle name: null

Source-specific fields

As-of Date: Dec 31, 2024
Calendar Quarter: 4
Full Name: Blaise-Kwarteng, Maxi
Paid Section Description: null
Payroll ID: 150858
Record Type: Master
Salary Hourly Rate: $91,984
Year-to-Date Earnings: $61,577

Maxi Blaise-Kwarteng works as a Assistant Deputy Public Defender 1 for Office of the Public Defender within Office of the Public Defender. Their hire date on record is null. Maxi earned $61,577 in 2024. They are represented by Professional Unit (Cwa) - Unit P.

Alison Gifford

Assistant Deputy Public Defender 2/Office of the Public Defender

2024 total comp

$61,534

Sub-department: Office of the Public Defender
Base pay: $60,473
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,061
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $61,534
Hire date: null
Union / bargaining unit: Professional Unit (Cwa) - Unit P
Pay basis: Annual
Middle name: null

Source-specific fields

As-of Date: Dec 31, 2024
Calendar Quarter: 4
Full Name: Gifford, Alison
Paid Section Description: null
Payroll ID: 163683
Record Type: Master
Salary Hourly Rate: $98,268
Year-to-Date Earnings: $61,534

Alison Gifford is a Assistant Deputy Public Defender 2 at Office of the Public Defender within Office of the Public Defender. Records show a hire date of null. 2024 total compensation came to $61,534. Union affiliation: Professional Unit (Cwa) - Unit P.