Should I Just Get a Public Defender or Spend the Money for a Private Defense Attorney?
Orange County Criminal Attorney
Our Orange County criminal attorney understands money is tight right now, and it may be easy to think that a public defender will do exactly what a private lawyer will do for you.
You Could End Up Spending MORE Time In Jail
Our Irvine criminal defense attorney stresses a very important point, from the moment a public defender represents you in court not only are the odds already stacked against you, but you risk spending MORE time in jail.
That was the conclusion of a 2006 study by Emory University and reported by The New York Times in January 2007 that the average sentence for clients of public defenders was nearly five years longer than for clients of private attorneys.
The Judge and Jury Must Think You're Automatically Guilty
Though highly illegal for a judge to consider out loud and for a jury to consider during deliberation, unfortunately having a public defender by your side creates an inherit bias in the mind of the judge and jury that you must be guilty since you didn't bother hiring a private attorney.
On the flipside if you're being accused of a serious crime a judge and jury may realize there must be a reason you hired a private attorney, because you're determined to prove your innocence.
The Problem With Public Defenders
Our Orange County criminal attorneys don't want to undermine the work of public defenders as they're plenty of hard-working, dedicated public defenders.
The problem is, says our Newport Beach criminal lawyer, most public defenders are extraordinarily overworked and cannot give your case the special, detailed attention it requires that a private lawyer can give you.
Our Santa Ana criminal attorney points out that Orange County public defender is dealing with hundreds of cases a week and can only give your case minimum attention at best.
What Our Orange County Criminal Attorneys Will Do For You!
A private Orange County criminal defense lawyer will thoroughly go over your case, even if it takes many hours, days, weeks or even months, to investigate the police investigation and tactics that lead to your arrest, and depending on your case, hire private detectives and specialists to prove you're not guilty of the alleged crime.
Also, depending on circumstances of your case, a private Orange County attorney can work "behind the scenes" with the district attorney and judge to get you a really good plea deal where you avoid jail time and go on with your life.
Consider This:
Something else to consider if you go with a public defender, they're working for the same people who are prosecuting you, the district attorney's office.
Our Fullerton criminal attorney points out that sadly they've been several documented cases of the public defender's office working in collusion with the district attorney's office to simply plead out the suspect without considering all the facts in the case. Subsequently the defendant's rights were not properly presented in court.
Call Us Now for a Free Consultation!
We know times are tough and you or a loved one now having to face charges haven't made things easier, but when you call the Orange County criminal attorney specialists at the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti we'll do our best to make things a little less complicated.
This is your life and you need to leave it to a professional Orange County criminal defense lawyer who will see to it that you have the best possible outcome and that you get back on with your life.
