Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
What kind of defense can someone expect for free?	powderpuff	11/12/05
If someone is arrested for felonious assault, is a free public defender going to be enough? I was told that an appointed public defender will not spend more than a couple minutes with the accused, and only then, immediately before court appearances. The public defenders are, after all, swamped with representing all those arrested the day before and have too many cases to actually talk with the defendant and present an accurate defense for any of his appointed cases. What I was told is, arrested people have a right to a competent attorney, not a right to an attorney that will present the best defense....(or even any defense). From my observations in a court room last week, that appeared to be the situation. Ok, so it is my understanding that a competent attorney is all anyone has a right to. A competent attorney would be someone who has a license to practice law, I'm guessing that would be a minimum to qualify as a competent attorney? What about a right to a fair trial? How can anyone believe that an accused person will get a fair trial if his court appointed free public defender will never hear a description of the situation from the accused's point of view, and therefore, will never present the defendant's position to the judge/jury? I thought people had a right to a fair trial, was I wrong?
Clarification/Follow-up by excon on 11/12/05 4:16 am: Hello again, sissy: >>>I know nothing about cars and must rely on the word of others.... <<< But, you WOULDN’T rely on the government guy, I assume. You WOULD bring your own expert to the lot. If you don’t, then you’ll get screwed. Who’s fault would that be? Caveat Emptor. excon
Answered By		Answered On
excon		11/12/05
Hi sissy: You're wrong. Trials aren't fair, even if both parties paid lots of bread for their defense. Some lawyers are just better than others. Which brings us to the public defenders office. Each county runs its own office and some of them are run better than others. Some of the best and some of the worst lawyers are public defenders. Who's responsibility is it to ensure that a defendant gets competent representation in any case? The state? I actually think its the defendant. Pretend for a minute, that the government is going to give everybody a car. When it's your turn at the lot, the government guy (who sees you're just a girl and don't know much about cars) gives you a piece a crap. Right next to the piece of crap, is a nice little car. Are you going to just take the piece of crap and not say anything? Or, are you going to demand that the government guy gives you the best car he has? Some people will take the piece of crap car and complain that they got screwed. Some will get the best car on the lot. Which one are you? excon

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