If you’ve been charged with a crime and are needing a criminal defense lawyer, you might be tempted to save yourself some money by simply using a public defender. The reality is that you’re going to need someone with a deep understanding of criminal law, and the absolute best representation for you in court. With this in mind, getting a public defender may not be the ideal choice. Here are some Tips For Finding the Right Criminal Defense Lawyer.
In addition to a legal counsel, you should also work with a 24 hour bail bondsman so you’ll be released as soon as the bail amount is announced.
Here are three reasons why a public defender may not be the best legal counsel for you in a criminal case.
You Have No Choice In Who You Work With
When you have a public defender as your legal counsel, you aren’t actually able to choose what public defender you wind up working with or who exactly will represent you. Depending on the details of the case, there are lawyers that might have more experience dealing with case similar to yours. If the case involves airplane flying for example, an aviation attorney would have a much better understanding of the subject and would give you a better chance at a positive outcome. The only way your going to get represented by someone with experience in cases similar to yours is if you find and hire one.
And because your best chance of beating your charges is by having someone with case-specific criminal defense experience representing you, this could be a big negative for you. Having a Chandler Criminal Defense Lawyer that has a good defense strategy as early as possible in the process will help to ensure your constitutional rights are protected.
According to Paul Bergman and Sara J. Bergman, contributors to Nolo.com, when you’re being given a public defender, it’s often just the person who’s assigned to that courtroom for the day or who’s taking on those types of cases at that time. And once the judge appoints a public defender to you, if can often be hard to get a new one if you decide that you don’t particularly like how things are going with the one you’ve been given.
You Won’t Get Much Time Spent With You Or On Your Case
Public defenders are notoriously overworked. Because that have so many cases that they need to get through on any given day, they simply can’t afford to spend a lot of time on any one case, which means your case likely won’t be given a lot of time and thought before you’re in court.
Additionally, HG.org shares that many people who use public defenders only see them for a few minutes before they enter a plea. So if you were thinking that you and your public defender would meet and strategize together before your court date, you’re likely going to be very disappointed.
You Might End Up In Jail For Longer Periods Of Time
Because public defenders have large caseloads, Alexa Van Brunt, a contributor to The Guardian, shares that continuances are often used if and when the public defender does need more time to look at your case. And while this might seem like a good thing that your case is getting a little more attention, it could also mean that you spend more time in jail while you wait for your case to be heard.
If you’re needing someone to defend you in a court of law, you might want to seriously consider hiring your own criminal defense lawyer who knows everything about criminal law rather than relying on a public defender.
