When you are charged with a crime plus your liberty is somehow threatened (for example, with potential jail time), you’re eligible under the United States constitution to be represented by an attorney.
Get Legal Help Early
It’s vital to possess a criminal defense lawyer to represent you at once along the way, ideally at arraignment. A criminal defense attorney can:
- Challenge probable cause for arrest
- Argue in favor of being released on your own recognizance or on very low bail
- Negotiate plea bargains with prosecutors
- Discuss the pros and cons of going to trial
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of pleading guilty
Getting a Public Defender Appointed
If you can’t afford to hire a lawyer belonging to the private legal community, the legal court can appoint a government-paid lawyer called a “public defender” to represent you.
In order to use a public defender, you need to convince the judge that you just can’t afford to hire a legal professional all on your own. The judge may ask you to submit a form describing your financial resources, resources, income and financial obligations. You may also need to provide the court with documentation like paystubs to prove your income level.
Standards for what kind of money you can make and still qualify for a public defender can vary greatly among states, and sometimes from one court to another.
In rural areas and in courts with meager resources, there mightn’t be public defenders on staff with the court to represent you. In that case, the court will usually appoint a private attorney at public expense, or assign a private attorney originating from a volunteer attorney list to represent you.
In some courts, judges accommodate what’s called “partial indigency” representation: you will have the help of a public defender, but are required to reimburse the court some of the expense of representation following the trial.
If you give false information to the court in order to get a public defender appointed, you might be charged with the crime of falsifying information.
If the court settles that you will be making too much money to qualify for a public defender, you have to immediately start looking to get a private attorney to defend you.
Disadvantages of a Public Defender
One problem with being represented by way of a public defender is that these government-paid practitioners often have a huge overload of cases, and cannot devote a long time to one case. Due to this fact, you could have minimal access to your lawyer except during actual court hearings.
Public defenders also often lack office equipment and adequate research access, and can’t afford to hire investigators to adequately flesh your case.
Public defenders will often be young and inexperienced, and therefore are “cutting their teeth” on high-volume misdemeanor cases for instance DWIs.
A public defender also won’t be ready to help you understand related civil law or administrative matters (for example driver’s license revocation hearings in the DWI case). It is important to hire an outside attorney that can assist you with these concerns.
Advantages of a Public Defender
Public defenders work with the same judges and prosecutors day in and day out, and learn their personal quirks, peeves and tolerances. In addition, they see the same police officers testifying, and know who’s more likely a bad (and good) witness.
Public defenders usually work in “niched” areas of legal specialty, for example DWI or domestic violence defense. So they really are more likely to be up-to-date on new legal and law theories inside their part of specialty.
A public defender is likely to be very efficient at comprehending your case and presenting an acceptable plea bargain deal towards the prosecutor and judge. As a result, you could be through with the criminal process and also on with the remainder of your life sooner than had you been represented by the private attorney.
Second Guessing Your Public Defender
Once you’ve been appointed a public defender, it has been very difficult, if not impossible, to have your attorney substituted for another public defender.
If you are having doubts about advice your public defender provides you with, make an appointment for a “second opinion” consultation with a private criminal defense attorney. Most lawyers are willing to consult for a small fee, and you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing your public defender is on track.
For help with a DUI Athens Georgia, contact a criminal defense lawyer Athens GA.