Three Important Reasons to Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney Instead of Relying on a Public Defender

Everyone deserves legal representation when defending themselves in legal court. There is the option of working with a public defender or hiring a private criminal defense attorney. Working with a public defender may not cost you any money, but there are plenty of good reasons to consider hiring a paid criminal defense attorney to represent you in court.

Get the Attention You Deserve

Public defenders are assigned their cases and, if the criminal courts are busy, you can bet that the county's public defenders are too. On the other hand, private criminal defense attorneys get to pick and choose which cases they take on. If a potential client comes to them with a case that doesn't look promising, a private attorney can choose to turn it down, which is a luxury public defenders don't typically have.

What this means for you is that by hiring a private criminal defense attorney, your case will be more likely to get the close attention it needs because your lawyer won't be dealing with more cases than they can handle at any given time. You can expect your private attorney to only take on your case if they know they have the time and expertise needed to effectively represent you in court.

Get the Additional Support You Need

Private criminal defense attorneys create their own support teams to work with, which means that they generally have the ability to tailor their services to meet the unique needs of their various clients as time goes on. You can expect your private attorney to have access to office and legal assistants, investigators, negotiators, and others who will all work together to make sure that you are properly represented in the courtroom.

Unfortunately, when working with a public defender, you'll likely have to rely on the basic support they provide you with, which could leave your case lacking and your representation lackluster.

Take Advantage of Flexible Availability

Because public defenders are usually faced with a large workload, it can be tough to schedule meetings with them and it can take several days for them to return your phone calls, which can be frustrating if you have urgent questions or concerns. You may not even always get to see your public defender in person between court appearances.

Luckily, you can count on your private defense attorney to schedule regular in-person meetings with you to ensure that you're always aware of what is going on with your criminal defense case. You can also expect them to answer your phone calls or at least return your calls within just a day or two. And you should be able to schedule emergency meetings when you need them without facing any roadblocks.