In the United States, the right to a lawyer is guaranteed by the Constitution
If you are charged with a felony in the United States and cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one to represent you free of charge. It is a constitutionally guaranteed right.
Public defenders represent indigent defendants who face jail time if found guilty.
These lawyers are in great demand. In 2013, the number of cases they brought to completion ranged from 50 to 590 per lawyer, according to the Office of Judicial Statistics *, which reports to the Department of Justice.
“We are registered with the bar in the same way as private lawyers. But we made the choice of a career in public service and this is where we practice law, ”says Rosalie Joy, of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, who served in Atlanta for 29 years. years.
The right to counsel for those charged with criminal offenses in federal prosecutions is provided for by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Historic Supreme Court rulings subsequent to its adoption have extended this right to all criminal prosecutions, that is, even those initiated by states, for any crime or offense punishable by imprisonment.
Funding for this service varies by jurisdiction. Some states support legal aid. In others, counties or cities pay the cost. Georgia operates a hybrid system and also uses court-imposed fines and court costs, Joy said. In the District of Columbia (the city of Washington), funds allocated by Congress are used to pay for the services of court-appointed lawyers.
Laura Hankins, chief legal counsel for the Public Defender Service, an organization in Washington that provides legal representation to indigent children and adults facing jail time, emphasizes the importance of lawyers for those with low incomes. She has seen it often: the charges against these people may be too many or too heavy. They can also be wrongly accused.
The lawyer is looking for more material facts about the alleged crime. She wants to "see what really happened - to get the charges dropped or lightened," she adds.
She reassures her clients: “Yes, I'm on your side. Come on, we're going to fight. "
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