Just pondering another question in search of adding some more useless knowledge to the squishy stuff in my cranium. Can anyone have a public defender appointed to represent them if you are charged with a crime or is there a qualification process?
I do realize that if you can afford a private attorney that you would probably be better off hiring one than letting your fate rest in the hands of an probably over worked and underpaid pro bono lawyer. But lets say you are a cheap millionaire, can you request a public defender? I don’t know, but I would assume that there are some asset/income qualifications you have to meet to qualify for a court appointed attorney. How about if you are a high income person, say $200k a year, but are in debt to your eyeballs? And no, I don’t need the answer fast.
Also, I was under the assumption that appointed lawyers are regular private attorneys, the idea is that all private practice attorneys are required to fulfill a yearly quota of pro bono work for the court system. Is that how it works? If so, does that mean if you commit a felony you might get lucky and have a high profile attorney appointed to your case?
Depends on the state. Some states have attorneys that are funded entirely by taxpayers. Others do appoint private attorneys to work pro bono, especially if there aren’t enough taxpayer-funded defenders to do around. So yeah, it is possible that you could luck into getting a grade-A private attorney.
Same thing about claiming “indigency.” It varies by states. Some states will in fact make you pay for a public defender based on their assessment of your financial situation.
Every state is different. In MA, a defendant fills out a questionnaire that asks about income, assets, benefits, dependents, etc. These are statutory guidelines so a judge must give you a public defender if you qualify and require you to obtain private counsel if you don’t. I don’t know what happens if you have assets but a boatload of debt, but I suspect you are not getting a public defender if your income is fixed and stable and you own a car, home, stocks, etc.
In MA there are dedicated full-time public defenders paid by the state and bar advocates who are private attorneys that take on some cases to meet the demand (and paid by the state for these specific cases). Some public defenders are much better than the private attorneys because they have more knowledge and exposure to criminal issues. If you commit a serious crime and can’t pay, you will get an attorney who is quite experienced. These cases are handled in superior court (felonies that could result in long sentences) rather than district court where sentences can’t be imposed longer than a few years.