Public Service: Nanci Holder McCarthy

Chief Federal Defender, Eastern District of Missouri
Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of Missouri
St. Louis

Nanci McCarthy has spent 18 years with the Federal Defender Office for the Eastern District of Missouri building a practice centered on zealous advocacy and holistic defense. McCarthy championed Mental Health Court in the district and served on its inaugural team supporting indigent clients with mental health needs. She has since supported seven specialty courts — including two drug courts, a veterans’ court and a gang court — helping the district lead the nation in post-conviction specialty courts aimed at reducing recidivism.

McCarthy sponsored an internal artificial intelligence tool to boost productivity and improve client outcomes without compromising confidentiality and has grown the office’s mitigation specialist unit.
She provides regular training for Federal Public Defenders and Criminal Justice Act attorneys and serves on the Criminal Operations Advisory Committee for the U.S. Judicial Conference. McCarthy also volunteers as an adult literacy tutor.

Equal justice has guided her career; she noted that changing the world for one person matters.