Q: Can I trust my public defender?
A: MAYBE, it depends on your level of maturity. There are a number of reasons the system does not work.
THE TOP FIVE REASONS THE PUBLIC DEFENDER SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK
When a criminal defendant indicates that he is unable to afford an attorney, the judge will often appoint an attorney. This court appointed attorney represents the defendant at a minimal cost, often just the cost of appointment, which is currently fifty dollars ($50) in Georgia. Irrespective of whether the indigent criminal defendant is represented by the public defender, court appointed counsel (private attorney that agrees to take court appointed work), or a conflict defender, the relationship is often strained, and the system fails to work. There are a number of reasons the system does not work:
(5) Clients arrested for criminal offenses have poor judgment. This should be no real surprise. Some poor choice has led to the arrest. Either the criminal client has elected to knowingly participate in criminal activity, OR associate with others who he knows frequently engage in criminal activity. Either the criminal client has deliberately placed himself in a dangerous locale, OR has followed some friend to a den of iniquity. I have yet to represent the honor student on his way home from chemistry lab that gets caught up in the drug raid. I am sure some attorney has, just not me. Irrespective of how the arrest occurred, the client often gave the officer arresting him plenty of reason to arrest him.
After he is arrested and assigned an attorney to represent him, the criminal client begins the relationship by referring to the court appointed attorney has a “public pretender” or “free lawyer”. Only an insane person would think it is a good idea to insult the only person standing between the criminal client and a lengthy prison sentence, and justify the insult as a means of motivating the attorney to do more on his case than the next defendant.
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