Michigan Criminal Attorneys Blog
If you cannot afford a lawyer, you are entitled to have the Court appoint a lawyer to represent you in any criminal proceeding where the Court may incarcerated you. A appointed lawyer does not necessarily mean a free lawyer – the Court, more often than not, orders the Defendant to reimburse the jurisdiction for court appointed attorney fees. The fee may be hundreds to thousands of dollars depending upon the amount of work the attorney performs. Sometimes you truly get what you pay for. By requesting a court appointed attorney, you lose the choice to hire who you want to represent you.
There is a chance that luck will be on your side, and the attorney you receive will be a dedicated advocate on your behalf. There is also the risk, however, that the court appointed attorney may be inexperienced, ill prepared, overworked, and/or apathetic.
Many counties in Michigan do not pay (or pay a minimal amount) for the court appointed attorney to file and argue motions (things like Motions to Quash, Motions to suppress evidence, Motions to reduce and/or modify bond), which sometimes reduces the likelihood that such a motion will even be filed. Some (not all) court appointed attorneys will not file these motions on your behalf because they do not get paid to do so. Some Courts pay public defenders less than a couple hundred dollars to conduct a trial, which reduces the time that the attorney may dedicate to prepare for the trial. The court appointed attorney also may be reluctant to conduct a trial, because they believe (rightly or wrongly) that the Judge who assigned the case to them will not continue to do so if trials are the result. If you are incarcerated, it is often difficult for you to maintain regular contact with your lawyer if they are court appointed. Some Courts either do not pay for jail visits, or limit the number of jail visits that the court appointed attorney can bill for. Unfortunately, good results are often the product of effective, fearless, and dilligent preparation.