PHOTO PROVIDED Lora Rupert, first assistant public defender for Centre County and an adjunct professor at Penn State Dickinson Law, is pictured at the Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday after it was announced she was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.

BELLEFONTE — Lora Rupert, first assistant public defender for Centre County and an adjunct professor at Penn State Dickinson Law, has been admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, a distinction that makes her eligible to argue cases before the nation’s highest court.

Rupert, who joined the Centre County Public Defender’s Office in 2018, serves as its second-in-command, supervising and training assistant public defenders while managing her own caseload and representing clients throughout the criminal process.

At this week’s county commissioners meeting, the board recognized Rupert for her accomplishment.

“There are 13 million lawyers in the United States, and a little over one percent of them achieve the distinction of being admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court,” Chief Public Defender Dave Crowley, who attended the meeting with Rupert, told the commissioners. “You put great weight in professional development, and we are very thankful you are recognizing Attorney Rupert for joining [the Supreme Court Bar].”

A graduate of Lock Haven University and North Carolina Central University School of Law, Rupert has spent her decade-long legal career advocating for indigent clients. Before joining the Centre County Public Defender’s Office, Rupert previously served as an assistant public defender in Lebanon County. She now draws on that experience in the classroom as a professor of legal writing and analysis and co-professor of the Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic at Dickinson Law.

“This really indicates the level of training, education and work that you have done with a high level of expertise,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion told Rupert.

“When we think about the value of a public defenders office and representing people who are really in need, I feel proud to be associated with a county that has such a high level of expertise in its public defenders office,” Concepcion said, praising Rupert for cultivating her expertise to better serve the people of Centre County.

“I feel very honored and appreciative that you chose to recognize this achievement for me,” Rupert said on Tuesday. “This has been a great office to be a part of. The commissioners have always recognized our needs, and we’ve been able to grow into an office with the staff required to support the clients we represent.”

Rupert noted that the office recently added a caseworker, a resource she described as a luxury that many public defenders lack. “Our office is able to constantly evolve and represent, not only our clients, but also the rehabilitative needs of Centre County residents,” she said.

She also credited her colleagues for her accomplishment.

“I would be remiss not to acknowledge Attorney Crowley. He has truly made me into the attorney that I am. We have strong leadership in our office, and we have the best team of support staff — our paralegals, investigator, our administrative staff. It takes a village to do the type of work that we do, and I would be remiss not to give them the credit they deserve because they were right along with me the entire way,” Rupert said.

Commissioner Mark Higgins praised the public defenders’ work.

“It’s a noble calling. You are defending people who, in some ways, are essentially defenseless, and that takes a lot of guts and a lot of courage,” he said, adding that the office’s commitment does not go unnoticed.

“The true love of your job that you have — that’s very powerful, and it is not lost on us,” said Commissioner Steve Dershem. “We really appreciate the job you all do.”