03/17/2026
If you are charged with a crime generally speaking you have fundamental constitutional right to an attorney/lawyer/counsel. If you can afford it, generally speaking, you have a fundamental constitutional right to choose/pick who your attorney/lawyer/counsel will be. If you cannot afford to pay, you STILL have a fundamental constitutional right to an attorney/lawyer/counsel. The public defenders we have are exceptional. Many of them have more experience than the paid lawyers. The only material difference is the choice. If you can pay, you get to choose your lawyer. If you can’t, the court/judge chooses. What you can’t do is call a random lawyer and ask for his or her time if you aren’t going to pay or tell the court you want to pick your free lawyer.
