***public defender***

[jaymoney]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

Are public defenders actually private lawyers/firms that get selected by a judge, or is it actually a government position? I always thought it was a government position, and public defender is a direct government employee.

Some are but most are lawyers who work for themselves that need to fill their time and earn some extra bucks, so they show up at the courthouse and offer to be a PD and get assigned cases. They take what they're offered and so does the client.

[King of the South]

Originally Posted by HudsonCoNJ

It means he was charged with a crime, and like any intelligent person charged with a crime, they are seeking the best possible defense available to them. If you were charged with a crime, you would likely do the same.

Although my post was admittedly too harsh in response to someone looking for help on a forum, I have to respond to “If you were charged with a crime, you would likely do the same.” I can’t begin to imagine being charged with a felony. It’s pretty hard to do. Going over 55 MPH? Ok sure but robbing someone? Stealing a car? Dealing drugs? You’ve really got to work at committing a felony.

OP - maybe others could better help than I, if you say what the charge is.

[nybbler]

Originally Posted by ansky

Committing a crime is rarely a "mistake".

Getting caught is nearly always a mistake.

[HudsonCoNJ]

Originally Posted by King of the South

Although my post was admittedly too harsh in response to someone looking for help on a forum, I have to respond to “If you were charged with a crime, you would likely do the same.” I can’t begin to imagine being charged with a felony. It’s pretty hard to do. Going over 55 MPH? Ok sure but robbing someone? Stealing a car? Dealing drugs? You’ve really got to work at committing a felony.

OP - maybe others could better help than I, if you say what the charge is.

I hear you. I don’t have a criminal record and don’t imagine myself ever being charged with a felony either. Some years ago, before I had kids, I watched this movie called Felon. It was about a family man who was burglarized one night when he and his family were asleep and he chased the burglar out of the house with a baseball bat. He swung the bat at the unarmed burglar on his front lawn and killed him. It wasn’t considered self defense because once the burglar left the house, he was no longer a threat. That always kind of stuck with me, and now that I have kids, I can think of quite a few scenarios where I wonder whether I would be able to contain myself from physically assaulting someone who just caused physical harm to my kids, even if they are no longer a threat.

Long story short, any one of us can get “jammed up” given an imperfect set of circumstances.

[Dangerous-Boy]

need an attorney on retainer

[NJ Brazen_3133]

Originally Posted by jaymoney

Some are but most are lawyers who work for themselves that need to fill their time and earn some extra bucks, so they show up at the courthouse and offer to be a PD and get assigned cases. They take what they're offered and so does the client.

Oh that is cool. But I hope this is only for criminal cases, and not civil. If civil, a lot of people will be taking advantage of the tax pool, and sue others, or get others to sue them with no cost repercussions.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

But I hope this is only for criminal cases, and not civil. If civil, a lot of people will be taking advantage of the tax pool, and sue others, or get others to sue them with no cost repercussions.

You can rest easy, as the Constitutional guarantee of counsel only applies to criminal cases.

https://criminal.findlaw.com/crimina...-attorney.html