We are pleased to present our September program: “Public Defense in North Carolina, and Why We Do What We Do.” The program will be presented by Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding and Assistant Appellate Defender Amanda Zimmer.

Glenn Gerding is the North Carolina Appellate Defender.  The Office of the Appellate Defender represents people from across North Carolina in the appellate courts after a criminal conviction. Before becoming the Appellate Defender in 2015, Mr. Gerding was in private practice primarily representing clients at trial and on appeal in criminal cases. He has served as an assistant public defender in Orange County and on active duty in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps. Mr. Gerding continues to serve as a Captain in the Navy Reserve as an appellate judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Originally from Wingate, NC, Mr. Gerding is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Campbell University School of Law.

Amanda Zimmer graduated from East Carolina University then attended Wake Forest University School of Law.  She was in private practice in Southern Pines, North Carolina, for almost 10 years, primarily representing criminal defendants on appeal and in post-conviction proceedings and occasionally representing defendants in trials and pleas in district and superior court.  Amanda joined the Office of the Appellate Defender in Durham, North Carolina as an Assistant Appellate Defender in 2016.