Unable to Afford an Attorney

Answer:

Anytime it comes down to representation, be it a civil case – and particularly a criminal case – the question is always, “Can I afford an attorney?” The real question is whether or not you can afford to not have an attorney. Particularly as it relates to criminal law ( because you could lose your life, liberty or property), there’s a constitutional safeguard in place that’s given to you in the Miranda warnings, which states that if you can’t afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you at no cost to you. If you cannot afford an attorney in a criminal matter, a public defender will be appointed to you. That’s not so in civil matters. Generally, the court’s not going to give you an attorney. In some instances, if there’s a dependency hearing or something like that, the court could appoint counsel in those issues, but generally for a criminal matter, the judge will appoint you a public defender because that’s a constitutional right for you – you get a lawyer to represent you. If it’s ineffective assistance of counsel or you don’t want a lawyer, you can deny that lawyer. If you want to represent yourself, which is not recommended, you can have advisory counsel while you try the case on your own. There are a number of issues involved, but generally the court’s going to appoint a lawyer to you. The question is do you want a private lawyer or do you want a public defender? If you’re thinking to yourself, “I want a private lawyer,” you’re probably going to be in better hands with a private lawyer. They have more flexibility, they have fewer cases, and they can put more attention and resources into it, but it’s not free. Find a lawyer that will work with you as far as a payment plan is concerned and get creative about getting funds together. There are a number of things that you can do to gather up finances and work out payment arrangements so that you can get representation that you’re comfortable with. We’ve been behind the prison walls in this state plenty of times, and talked with inmates and folks that have been convicted who say, “Man, if I would’ve had a different lawyer … man, if I would’ve had different counsel, I would’ve fared differently in this.” Don’t be that person. Do what you need to do now. Again, you can’t afford not to hire the lawyer that you’re comfortable with so that you can get the best outcome. Call our office. We work with criminal clients all the time regarding criminal matters, and we’ll work with you. There are other lawyers that will do it as well, so you call and get a hold of lawyer. Make sure you’re comfortable and confident with the counsel that you have, regardless of what the criminal charges are.