Heidi R. Freese
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Adjunct Professor of Law Location: Carlisle Federal Public Defender
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717-782-2237About Freese
Heidi R. Freese is the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Heidi began her four-year term in September, 2017 following her selection by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and she joined the small but growing ranks of women Federal Public Defenders. Prior to her selection as the Federal Defender, Heidi served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Trial Division of the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania for 10 years, where she represented indigent federal criminal defendants at every stage of federal criminal proceedings.
Before entering public service, Heidi was an associate attorney at Miller, Poole and Lord, LLP in York, Pennsylvania, with a primary focus on criminal defense cases ranging from simple traffic offenses to capital murder. In private practice, then President Judge Richard K. Renn appointed Heidi to serve as a Juvenile Delinquency Master to the York County Court of Common Pleas. While in private practice, Heidi was also appointed to serve as a Criminal Justice Act Panel attorney in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Heidi is a practitioner instructor at Penn State Dickinson Law, where she also guest lectures on matters relating to Federal Criminal Practice and where she has been a trial team advisor and advocacy instructor. She received her J.D. from Penn State Dickinson Law and her B.A. from Millersville University.
Heidi is the proud mother of three children.
Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law are reunifying to operate as Penn State University’s single law school, which will be known as Penn State Dickinson Law. While ABA approval for the reunification is pending, both schools are currently fully accredited. We submitted an application for acquiescence to operate as a single law school in July 2024 and plan to enroll a unified class in Fall 2025. Once reunification is complete, the separate faculties of each school will be members of the reunified Penn State Dickinson Law faculty.