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There are a myriad of universal myths about the court appointed attorney to include that the public defender is: a) "not a real attorney," b)"in bed with the prosecutor," c)works for the court and not the client, etc.

However, the court appointed attorney may be the best attorney to handle your case, especially if your case involves a charge that is a misdemeanor or a gross misdemeanor. The misdemeanor cases are mostly handled by the district and municipal courts (or their equivalents) and are limited in the amount of fine($) and in the amount of time (days, weeks, and months)of incarceration.

For example: if you are charged with a misdemeanor (mis.) in most jurisdictions the fine is up to $1,000, the in custody time is usually up to 90 days, and for a gross misdemeanor (g. mis.) the fine caps out at $5,000, and the time is limited to 365 days or less.

The court appointed attorney, hence forth noted as the P.D. (public defender), that handles these classes of cases, typically handles the same types of cases every day and in most circumstances have appeared before the same Judge and against the same Prosecutor for awhile. It is more efficient for Public Defender offices to assign attorneys to courtrooms rather than to individual cases at the mis. and g. mis. levels.

For example, in Washington State your first or second charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquour of drugs (DUI)is a g. mis., and in several of the counties and cities of Washington these cases are assigned to a particular court(s) and to a specific Judge.

Which attorney would you rather have representing you or your loved one?

1. The P.D. who has defended DUI clients daily and knows the current DUI laws, knows how this Judge handles all of the different motions, etc. and knows the offer that the Prosecutor offers at the first hearing? The P.D. that knows how the Judge runs His/her courtroom, how documents are handled, cases are called, etc.? The P.D. that has established a rapport with the prosecution and can get the best deal for your case, or point out the problems to get the prosecutor to dismiss outright? The P.D. that has spent so much time with the particular prosecutor that he/she knows the types of cases the Prosecutor typically hates to take to trial? The P.D. who knows whether or not the Prosecutor will object to release with out bail pending trial, requests for treatment, etc?

or

2. The private attorney that may or may have not been

In my experience, Court Appointed Attorney, is often in the best position to get the best result for your case, that is not to say that all public defenders are dedicated and proactive as others, or that all private attorneys are arrogant and behind on the times as some.

The point is that if you are ever in the unfortunate position of needing an attorney in a criminal matter, and you meet the financial requirements to have the Court appoint an attorney to represent you, perhaps it would be better to accept the Court Appointed Attorney,Public Defender that has been assigned, go to the first court appearance and talk to your assigned attorney, watch how your attorney handles your case and the other cases in the courtroom.