8.7: Indigent Defender Systems
- Page ID
- 48405
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Indigent Defender Systems
It is important in a democratic society that all are treated equally in the eyes of the law. Thus, it is important that regardless of one’s financial status all citizens that are accused of crime should have the right to legal representation. This representation serves as a type of equalizer between the power and resources of the state versus that of the defendant.
In order to provide legal representation to those who cannot afford it themselves different jurisdictions have developed different systems to handle this need. There are three main indigent defender systems: public defender system, assigned counsel systems, and contract systems. Some jurisdictions also mix these systems and have more than one method which they use.
Public Defender Systems
The public defender system is used primarily in larger urban areas where the demand for government appointed defense attorneys is consistent and rather high. This method is used in only about 34% of the court systems yet it covers approximately 68% of the American population. In the larger metropolitan areas there may be an entire office of public defender attorney similar to a law firm.
Two of the key differences with this model are that the only clients that these attorneys serve are alleged criminals, and their salaries are paid not by their clients but with tax dollars. Typically, public defender offices are organized along county or state lines. The lawyers that work in the public defender office tend to develop extensive expertise because of their daily contact with criminal law.
Assigned Counsel Systems
There tend to be two possible kinds of assigned counsel: ad hoc and coordinated. With both of these methods there are not full-time attorneys always on staff but rather, attorneys in the community will be chosen to be assigned to particular cases, if the attorney agrees. The ad hoc method is often found in smaller communities where there are not a lot of criminal cases. When the need arises, attorneys in the community will be randomly selected and asked if they will be willing to be hired for the case, until one of the attorneys accepts. With the coordinated method typically there is a list prepared in advance of attorneys who have stated their willingness to take on these criminal cases and one of the attorneys off the coordinated list will be contacted.
With this assigned counsel method it is possible to obtain one of the best attorneys in town however, since typically the fees paid by the government are quite low usually it is the attorneys with little experience which accept the offer to serve. Also with this method, there are no supportive services such as secretarial support staff or investigators that are provided.
Contract System
As the title implies, this method is based upon a contract, for an entire year. With this method a jurisdiction keeps track of the number of cases typically defended in a year as well as the estimated cost per case. This information is then shared with the local attorneys who are invited to submit a closed bid to the government of how much they would charge to handle all the criminal cases for the upcoming year. Whichever attorney or firm provides the lowest bid, they will be selected to represent the cases for the next year.
With this contract method, it is possible to obtain a very good local attorney or firm which wishes to have more exposure with criminal law. On the other hand, it is also possible that you get what you pay for and by always going with the lowest bid the representation may not be the best available.
Mixed Systems
In a mixed system, both public defenders and private attorneys are used. Typically, there will be a mixed system when the public defender caseload is too high and the government needs to temporarily bring on extra attorneys. A mixed system may also be necessary if there is a conflict of interest with the existing public defender. Occasionally, a mixed defender system may be necessary if there are a number of codefendants and they each need separate counsel and there may not be that many public defenders on staff so again a private attorney will need to be hired to temporarily.