Get PA Public Defender Application

Can I get advice from a public defender before I appear at the first court date? Yes! Being charged in a criminal matter can be extremely traumatic. It is perfectly understandable that you might want to speak with a lawyer from the Office of the Public Defender before your first scheduled court date.

Yes, the court can refuse to appoint a public defender if your case is in municipal court and the prosecutor is not asking for jail time. Also, you can be refused a public defender if you were able to pay the bond and get out of jail.

In such cases, although they are not criminal proceedings, you may be entitled to a public defender. Public defenders are also sometimes appointed to represent the mentally incapacitated.

You do not have a legal obligation to ask your family to help you pay for an attorney. If your case is not particularly complex, and is not likely to require many hours of an attorney's time, a judge may deny your request for a court-appointed attorney and instruct you to hire a private defense attorney.

The gross income of all members of your household is the starting point for Public Defender qualification. The monthly income limit for a household of one is $1197. A household of 2 is $1616 and a household of four is $2453.

You can fire your public defender by making a Marsden motion the next time you go to court. You can also hire an attorney and have him substitute in for your public defender. If you want a different public defender the only thing that you can do is contact the head deputy of the court where your case is at.

Remember, an assigned counsel is a private attorney who takes court-appointed cases and gets paid by the hour, whereas the public defender is an attorney who works only for the government - although they are bound by ethics to defend their client to the best of their ability - and gets paid a salary, no matter the ...

What's a Court Appointed Attorney? Court appointed attorneys are attorneys who are appointed by the state to assist persons during criminal law proceedings. A court appointed attorney performs various tasks, such as arguing the defense case before court, researching laws, and providing legal advice to the defendant.

Court-appointed lawyers aren't automatically less skillful than retained counsel, and are often just as good or better. ... If a person does not have the financial means to hire an attorney, courts will appoint a lawyer free of charge in all cases, including misdemeanors, that have the possibility of incarceration.

The overall median salary for entry level public defenders employed by state government was $46,000 to $58,400. For those with five or fewer years of experience, the median range was $54,800 to $64,900, and for those with six or more years as a public defender, the median was $60,300 to $77,700.

Thus, the maximum that attorneys can earn from court appointed work annually would range from $70,000 (handling lower end cases) to $84,500 (at the upper end). pay lawyers, quite generously, for representation in criminal matters. criminal work and certainly weren't getting $60 an hour for it.

To change your public defender, you generally need to write a letter to the judge in your case or contact the public defender's office, depending on the rules in your state. ... There's a chance a judge will grant your request if you have good reason to change public defenders.

You can always fire your private lawyer and hire a new one without the court's approval. ... IMPORTANT: If you already have a court-appointed lawyer, you cannot trade for your current court-appointed lawyer for another unless the court finds that there is good cause to substitute your lawyers.

Remember, an assigned counsel is a private attorney who takes court-appointed cases and gets paid by the hour, whereas the public defender is an attorney who works only for the government - although they are bound by ethics to defend their client to the best of their ability - and gets paid a salary, no matter the ...

Yes. You can replace your lawyer if you have lost faith or confidence in your lawyer to represent you, you have the right to change counsel. ... If you hire a new lawyer in the middle of a case, that lawyer will need to get up to speed on the case and that will likely cost you some more time and/or money.