Jump to content

Public defender


Recommended Posts

I'm done throwing money at lawyers for my son's troubles. He violated his community sentencing rules and is back in jail, he's begging for me to get him an attorney. I just can't do it anymore.  Is going with a public defender just basically giving up?  Not sure what answers I'm looking for here.  Do public defenders basically just do the minimum and go along with what the DA wants in the end?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It really depends. Some counties have a dedicated public defender office but must just appoint private attorneys from a list. Could get a good one, could get a bad one. It's sound like the revocation was justified, so you need a deal cutter anyway, not Perry Mason.

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can only say my brother was a public defender in Denver for many years before starting his own practice. He chose that job, took it very seriously, and still picks up cases as Dr Fear mentioned. His coworkers I met were the same. I'm sure it is luck of the draw to some extent based on the person and their workload though. Best of luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Pokoloco said:

Thank you. I'll find out who is handling his case, would they be willing to talk to me or is that not common practice?

They likely won't talk to you without your son's permission.  They might take your call to learn some background.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was a public defender as a young buck attorney before going civil to make money. Nearly all the other PDs I associated with were sharp and worked their asses off. Some of the private attorneys I knew would string a client's case along to ensure they get paid a larger fee while a PD has little incentive not to get the best possible resolution as quickly as reasonable. It is pick of the draw to an extent, but there are plenty of excellent PDs and plenty of meh private attorneys. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Pokoloco said:

I'm done throwing money at lawyers for my son's troubles. He violated his community sentencing rules and is back in jail, he's begging for me to get him an attorney. I just can't do it anymore.  Is going with a public defender just basically giving up?  Not sure what answers I'm looking for here.  Do public defenders basically just do the minimum and go along with what the DA wants in the end?

It's luck of the draw. There are good ones and bad ones and a whole lot in between. In a motion to adjudicate or revoke, the state's burden is only a preponderance of the evidence to show a violation of the terms of community supervision. Someone local with a good relationship with the DA's office is best, because as stated above, Perry Mason moments typically happen at pretrials and trials, not revos. Have a hearing on the revo, the judge just gets pissed off for wasting time and goes above the state's rec. And you're not going to win one on appeal. If he is looking at time, posting bond is dumb, spend that on an attorney or not at all. If he is short on fines/court costs/restitution or supervision fees, I always recommend D or family give me a blank money order for amounts due so when I talk to ADA I can grease the skids, "you want me to write X County on this money order? yeah? then cut the state's recommendation. Or I'll just give it back to D or family." Also, if he has any other cases make sure the bondsman gets off the bond or bond is increased so he gets time credit on that case too, otherwise, not entitled to it.

Feel free to post more info like county/charge/allegations in motion and I may be able to provide better advice.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't know about the luck of the draw with PDs but maybe it's time to avoid the slow road to jail.  A lot of times the State Attorney says, we will put him on probation or community control knowing the defendant will fuck up and likely get more time.  If he can do a reasonable amount of time and get it over, that may be the best option.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

5 hours ago, Pokoloco said:

I'm done throwing money at lawyers for my son's troubles. He violated his community sentencing rules and is back in jail, he's begging for me to get him an attorney. I just can't do it anymore.  Is going with a public defender just basically giving up?  Not sure what answers I'm looking for here.  Do public defenders basically just do the minimum and go along with what the DA wants in the end?

Edited by Vegas64
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...