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?
Answered By		Answered On
katiy		03/18/06
Good luck, however it goes. It's very important, who you have in the courtroom with you.

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