Meet the Black Woman Leading Maryland’s Public Defenders

Maryland’s public defender reflects on her journey from Haitian roots to historic legal leadership and why community engagement is essential to justice.

Natasha Dartigue never expected to spend three decades defending people accused of crimes. 

LEARN MORE: From Prison to Purpose: Transforming Re-entry in San Francisco

After graduating from Howard University School of Law, she imagined returning home to New York after a few years in Baltimore. Instead, a year-long clerkship with Judge Roger Brown, the late Baltimore Circuit Court jurist, changed the direction of her life and placed her on a path of public service.

Late last month, Dartigue took over the Maryland Office of the Public Defender as the second Black woman elected president of the Maryland State Bar Association. But before the titles and accolades, there was a foundation built through faith, family, and cultural identity.

Strong Roots

The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Dartigue grew up with a deep understanding that blessings come with responsibility. Her Catholic upbringing and knowledge of Haitian history convinced her that one’s gifts are best used to serve others — not kept for oneself.

In this conversation with Word In Black, Dartigue talks about the experiences that formed her understanding of justice, the mentors who helped guide her career, and why she believes public safety requires more than law enforcement. She also discusses the importance of representation, the connection between poverty and crime, and how communities of faith can move beyond charity toward collective action.

For Dartigue, justice is not simply about what happens inside a courtroom. It is about understanding people’s stories, addressing the conditions that shape their lives, and ensuring that every person is seen as more than their worst moment. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Word In Black: Tell me a little about your beginnings and how your faith shaped your life.

Natasha Dartigue: So I am first-generation American. My people were from Haiti. I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and I was raised on Long Island, New York. I’m the oldest of three, and my mom is a devout Catholic, so I went from grades one through 12 in the Catholic school system.

My upbringing was deeply steeped in ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ I was greatly grounded in my mother’s faith, but also my cultural heritage. That was the foundation that I grew out of: the belief that anything I set my mind to, I could do it.

Everything that you had been blessed with — the talent and the treasure — it was not for you to hoard, but for you to share.

Word In Black: Tell me about becoming a public defender. Was that always your dream?

Natasha Dartigue: No. If you had told my law school self that I was going to go to the public defender’s office, let alone be the public defender, I would have said, ‘That’s not me. You’re lying.’

I had the opportunity to clerk for Judge Roger Brown in Baltimore City. Prior to being a lawyer, he was a social worker, and you could see that in how he treated people and engaged with people.

At the end of the year, I had an offer for a private firm and an offer for the public defender’s office. I really struggled, and Judge Brown asked me the question: ‘Where did I feel that I would make the most impact?’

And I chose the public defender’s office.

The idea was that I was only going to stay here for five years and return home to Long Island. The five years has morphed into 30.

WIB: Has your perspective on justice changed over the years?

Dartigue: It has changed in the way that I see how the sausage is made. And it’s like one of those things — once you see how hot dogs are made, you’re like, ‘Ah, I can’t eat a hot dog.’

But now that I see how the sausage is made, there are moments when it really gets me fired up, and there are moments when it gets me really down.

WIB: Maryland recently enacted several reforms affecting housing, child support and other barriers facing low-income residents. Which changes do you believe will have the greatest impact on Black communities?

Dartigue: Fundamentally, crime and poverty are linked. And to truly have an impact on crime and public safety, we have to address the issues around poverty.

That includes lack of stable housing. That includes access to mental health services. That includes improving education. That includes access to opportunities, economic opportunities, and a stable workforce.

We often mistakenly have the conversation around public safety and police. Police react to crime. Police do not prevent crime. We have to focus on the areas that prevent crime.

It’s not one thing, but we need to continue to do the work in each of those areas. Everybody has a corner. As long as everybody just lifts their corner, you can lift it and move. But it’s when that one person drops their corner, then everybody else is stuck.”

WIB: What has it meant to become just the second Black woman to serve as president of the Maryland State Bar Association?

Dartigue: It is an honor and an opportunity. When we think about representation matters — it’s real.

I have had the benefit of having Judge Pamila Brown, the first African American woman to be president of the state bar, as a mentor and guide as I navigated to get to this position.

When you’re a first, it’s a lonely job. People talk about being the first and all the things, but nobody talks about how you continue to navigate the space and how you tend to the bruises and the scratches and all the things that you endure to break the glass ceiling.

My vision is under one profession, one standard, the rule of law fully realized — not only for those of us who practice law, but for the communities that we serve.”

WIB: Are we making progress in the relationship between law enforcement and Black communities?

Dartigue: There are areas of the state where there has been work intentionally to improve relationships. Is it across the board? No. Is it where it needs to be? No.

But there are officers who take their jobs seriously and are being intentional in how they interact with people, making sure that they’re respectful and treat people with dignity.

We didn’t get to where we are overnight. We’re not going to create better relationships overnight, but it will require the police and the community to be intentional about the work. And the work has to be done on both sides.

Word In Black: What have you learned so far on the journey?

Natasha Dartigue: I believe that each of my predecessors served a purpose during a particular time. I’ve had the opportunity to use my role in ways that were different than my predecessors.

Our responsibility is not only to advocate in the courtrooms, but to be an amplifier of the voices of the community as we seek certain legislative policies and laws.

We need to continue to evolve as to what holistic representation looks like and what it really means. When we’re representing someone, it’s important to understand not only the offense in front of us, but how did they get there?

RELATED: Project TURN: Future Pastors Learning Beside Prisoners

We see people at the point their lives have exploded and at their worst. But when we leave our offices and leave the courtroom and go out into the community, we get to see the beauty of people in a different way.

Brian Stevenson said it best: we are not defined by our worst moments.

God puts us where we’re supposed to be at the time we’re supposed to be there. I’m a public defender at a time when my perspective is needed in this role.”