Court appointed attorneys are often overworked and underpaid. That's not an excuse to do a shoddy job, but it does tend to make them seek a plea bargain with the DA most times, instead of considering the guilt or innocence of the client.

And remember that the judge is the one who appoints the court appointed attorney. So the atty doesn't get a choice of clients, as does the private atty.

where i come from they are referred to as PUBLIC PRETENDERS not public defenders. not once have i ever heard a good story about any of them . have you?????


[edit on 3-6-2008 by ironman433]

If Your Lawyer Wants You Executed....then I would suggest getting another lawyer...and really though...who opts for a court appointed lawyer for a murder case??? That is ludacris...

Court appointed lawyers are not really good for anything...
Marijuana??? 5 years? Sounds good, we'll take it!

A court appointed lawyer will leave you standing there with a dumb look on your face if you actually expected them to help you.

Originally posted by ironman433
where i come from they are referred to as PUBLIC PRETENDERS not public defenders. not once have i ever heard a good story about any of them . have you?????


[edit on 3-6-2008 by ironman433]

Yes, I did. I heard of one who fell down a flight of stairs at the courthouse.

This is actually one of the best arguments for the abolishment of the death penalty. Even though, in this case it may be warranted anyway.

I was living in Punta Gorda FL when Hurricane Charlie passed through. after FEMA paid my then wife and I, we went out an bought a car, well the DMV was closed due to damage and so I decided to drive the car home.

The whole town was under Marshall Law and I was arrested under suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle, (even though I had a bill of sale on me)

So I get to the jail and they had me fill out paperwork for a Public Defender.

When I got to court they even tried to have me plead guilty to grand theft auto. I laughed at the Public Defender and fired him on the spot, right in front of the judge.

I then went to the judge and demanded that the case be thrown out immediatly. He asked why and I gave him the Bill of Sale.

Long story short, after a phone call to the previous owner the judge threw out the case even though the DA wanted to continue with charges of driving without a tag. The judge said that the reduction in charge did not cover the origional screw up of the police arresting someone for a crime they did not commit.

Public Defenders suck and their should be a drastic change in the law.