Any time there is a possibilty of jail time, the defendant has to have an attorney. Whether hired or appointed, depending on his financial ability.
No matter who the attorney is, you have to be persistent & be willing to do a lot of leg work for them. Appointed attorneys in my state take turns with indigent cases, and if it's like a big "death penalty" case, only the best attorneys in that field will be the ones selected. And, if your son doesn't feel like the attorney has represnted him to the best of his ability, he needs to speak up! And,he will be asked. Hope I've helped. Good luck, Sillyhp

My daughter's first PD I didn't like. She told me basically my daughter was guilty and that she should take the plea. I don't feel that she worked very hard to "defend" her. On top of that my daughter spoke with police and detectives before she had a lawyer and said stupid things not realizing that there was a victim who died. But she also had her miranda rights read so she sank her own ship there. She has one now and he seems to be decent but it is probably too late now to make much difference. To be honest, i feel that they didn't really care about my daughter much...just get the case resolved as fast as possible. Good luck, sharon

While I'm not trying to be negative, I'm sure there are good PDs out there however, I've never met one,

My son filled out the paperwork for a PD and come court day, the PD never showed. More than bail, an attorney is usually money well spent. Do your homework though. If your loved one is being charged with a drug crime, find a lawyer from NORML. Look through the yellow pages and find lawyers who specialize not only in crimminal law but also as specific to your situation as possible.

If I only had $ for bail or an attorney, I'd go with the lawyer every time.

Remember we all have the RIGHT to remain silent. Few of us choose that right and none of us are the better for it.

P.S. No contest means, the defendent is not protesting (contesting) the charges against him or her however, it is treated as an admission of guilt when being sentenced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolo_contendere

My son's story is pretty much like Sharon has said about her daughter. It is so sad, while he did ask for an attorney, I feel they stalled and sent in a young pretty police officer, who was very kind to him and offered him some of her clothing (they had taken his as evidence) she very kindly sugeeted it would really go better for him, if he went and told the other officers what had happened, be honest. She even indicated to him once he did that they would let him go. Yes he was niave and a bit high still but that is what I really think stinks. But then I am his mother. The PD at first was a respectable lawyer that seemed to have it together, not that he had thought he would get out of anything, but then they appointed 2 new ones toward the end after 2 1/2 years of preparation. The state finally appointed a PD, and gave him all the cases. I feeel we were all shafted and misinformed.

The lawyer we had that lost the trial was the one that won and got him home....he was a military defense lawyer....free! So it depends on how things go. Mine had more experience the second time around and did exceptionally well.But if he had not filed all the motions for Appeal then we would still be looking at 22 years.

That is very very important...within 30 or 60 days he had to file the motions for an Appeal if he had not....my son would not be home right now. It is all about legalities! How well do they know the law and do they want to win above all else!

Hope it goes well for your child.
Love Rhea

Also Rhea, I believe that you, not letting up on him (the attorney) made a difference. If there wasn't anybody on the outside kicking & screaming, I don't think he would have put the effort into it like he did. Do you?
And I encourage anyone that feels like he or she hasn't been fairly represented to speak up. Don't be shy. It's your life we are talking about here. You may not get a second chance. Peace......Sillyhp