Youth Advocacy Division
Enhancing Futures for Young People Impacted by the Criminal Justice System.
About YAD
The Youth Advocacy Division (YAD) is dedicated to improving outcomes for youth exposed to the criminal justice system.
We focus on providing immediate, competent, and dedicated legal representation to every accused youth.
Our Commitment
Addressing Statewide Resource Disparities: We conduct comprehensive inquiries into the disparities that exist in under-resourced counties, aiming to ensure every youth has access to quality defense.
Competent and Dedicated Legal Advocacy: We are committed to the prompt appointment of competent and zealous counsel for every youth, ensuring their rights are vigorously defended.
Dynamic and Constructive Partnerships: By partnering with other defense and advocacy organizations, we strive to raise the level of youth defense practice throughout Georgia.
Recruitment of Youth Advocates: YAD promotes youth advocacy as a career-long, specialized area of criminal defense, appealing to dedicated professionals eager to make a difference.
Statewide Training and Support: We offer regular and robust training and certificate programs for youth advocates to enhance their skills and effectiveness in representing young clients.
“The YAD marks a significant improvement in our ability to safeguard the voices, rights, and potential of all Georgians.”
Manager Spotlight
Gayle B. Murray, Managing Attorney, YAD
Gayle B. Murray is the Director of the Youth Advocacy Division (YAD) of the Georgia Public Defender Council (GPDC).
A native Floridian, she received her Bachelor of Business Administration (Political Science/Public Administration) from the University of Miami (FL) in 1993. She earned her law degree from Emory University School of Law in 1996.
After graduation, Ms. Murray began working at the DeKalb Public Defender’s Office, where she represented clients whose charges ranged from misdemeanors to sex offenses to murder.
For three years, she was the sole attorney responsible for representing juveniles prosecuted as adults in Superior Court. In 2003, Ms. Murray was awarded the Child Advocate Award from the Juvenile Law Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia.
In January 2015, she transitioned from adult court to the Juvenile Court Division, where she served as the Chief Assistant Public Defender for the DeKalb County Juvenile Division. In that role, she supervised a staff of eleven employees, including six attorneys, one investigator, two social workers, and two office administrators. Ms. Murray also managed a small caseload, representing juveniles in court.
She now brings her extensive courtroom, supervisory, and juvenile defense experience to her statewide leadership role as Director of the Youth Advocacy Division at GPDC.
