About Charles A. Pascal
Charles A. Pascal Jr. studied at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a Bachelor of Arts before returning to the same campus for law school. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2003. Those years in Pittsburgh shaped his early approach to the law and set the stage for a career rooted in public defense and courtroom practice.
He launched his legal career in private practice. In 2003 he opened the Law Office of Charles A. Pascal, Jr., taking on a range of matters that gave him regular trial experience. Two years later he moved into public service, joining the Armstrong County Public Defender's Office as an assistant public defender in 2005. That shift placed him inside the county system, where he began handling a steady docket of criminal defense assignments.
Over time his responsibilities grew. In 2020 he stepped into the role of Chief Public Defender for Armstrong County. In that capacity he has overseen other attorneys, managed office operations and continued to appear in court. Colleagues and local court records show he has remained active at the trial level while adapting the office to the changing demands of the criminal justice system.
Pascal is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and is also admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Those admissions allow him to represent clients in both state courts and in federal cases that arise in the western part of the state. His work covers arraignments, pretrial litigation and contested hearings, and he remains involved in trial preparation and courtroom advocacy.
His trajectory from solo practitioner to chief defender reflects a blend of courtroom work and office leadership. He has combined the hands-on experience of trying cases with the administrative tasks that come from leading a county public defender's office. The result is a practice that balances one-on-one client representation with the broader duties of running a public defense program.
He currently serves as Chief Public Defender in Armstrong County and continues to represent clients in state and federal courts, concentrating his practice on criminal defense and public defense administration.
