In this time of age there has never been any more crime than there has today. Crimes today can vary from arson to murder, petty theft to fraud, no matter how small or how big the crime is, it is every and can happen to anyone. When it happens to you or someone around you it will most certainly be taken to a court system. Depending on the severity of the crime it can be taken to a civil court or trial courts. Whether you are the plaintiff or the defender you will sure you find a public defender in any court. Public defenders are lawyers appointed by the state to a person who cannot afford a lawyer. A public defender is a very important person that can help protect the defenders rights and make the verdict less severe. A public defender has a …show more content…
A public defender is a state appointed lawyer who defends a person in a legal dispute who cannot afford a lawyer. To qualify for one you must meet a financial limit, which varies from state to state. You must provide information on your yearly salary, what financial obligation you have, and if you have any medical problems. Now once you have qualified for one, how do these public defenders assist you in legal disputes? The most important part of a public defenders job is to advise and represent clients in courts, before government agencies, and in private legal matters. Another task they assist with is communicating with their clients and others to figure out what the cold hard facts are, to insure they win the case. Not only do they exam the evidences presented to them but they conduct research and analysis of legal problems to insure that no law have been broken in the legal dispute. Another key part of a public defender is they interpret laws, rulings, and regulations individual that are in the legal dispute so they can better understand the laws of the United States (Aughinbaugh, 2010). Once they have gathered the facts, interpreted the laws and gained outside knowledge they present the facts in writing and verbally to their clients or others and argue on their behalf. Finally one of the last things public defenders do is prepare and file legal documents, such as lawsuits, and …show more content…
But what does it actually take to become a public defender. To successfully obtain the title of public defender you must endure a lengthy time in college and law school; and pass many exams. It usually takes about seven years of full-time study after high school and four years of undergraduate study, then finally about 3 years of law school (Aughinbaugh, 2010). Most states and jurisdictions require lawyers to complete a Juris doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). The ABA accreditation signifies that the law school meets the standards in faculty and curriculum. Before entering law school a bachelor’s degree is required for entry into most law schools in the United States. In the process of obtaining your bachelor’s degree it would be wise to take many classes in English, public speaking, government, history, and economics. These classes will significantly help you when you enter the
People are represented in court by two kinds of lawyers, court-appointed lawyers and public defenders, which mean "hired lawyers" (Green, 2001). People that have higher income can hire their own lawyers. The lower and middle-income people are mainly the ones who rely on court appointed lawyers. These people don't have the money to hire a lawyer. Court appointed lawyers are not working in your best interest for many reasons.
This will start with the law enforcement officer arresting a suspect for a crime, in this example, for the murder of pop. The suspect will go in front of a judge, where the suspect will be informed of the charges of the crime, a necessary part of due process. The judge, will grant bail, or deny bail, the case will move from the charging attorney to the prosecuting attorney, this is where the prosecuting attorney becomes involved in the case and starts the working relationship with the law enforcement officers, victims and witnesses which are
The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals set a limit that each criminal defense attorney can take 150 felony cases per year, but “caseloads of 500, 600, 800, or more are common” (“Five Problems”). With that, criminal defense attorneys are forced to triage or reject cases, leaving potential clients to go to court without representation. If the defendant does have a public attorney, their defense is unprepared and vulnerable to make mistakes when working out a reasonable sentence. In one of his cases, Jones and his client accepted a deal with the prosecution for a three year sentence for stealing locks. Upon further investigation, the prosecution discovered that they made a mistake in calculating the minimum sentence – Jones’s client should have only served “366 days,” but it was already too late (Eckholm).
When 12 million citizens are arrested each year, this invites a great deal of stress into the lives of public defenders who are responsible for 180 to 200 cases at a time. I personally would never put myself in a work environment which lead my hair to fall out and anxiety to take over because my life was being threatened. The realization that people exist like that is daunting. One element that struck me most in the film was when Williams’ co-worker, Brandy Alexander, spoke about representing people who admit to the crime. I had a hard time processing how a father would pride himself in raping his own daughter. I actually rewound the movie because I thought my ears deceived me at the fact he would do it again given the opportunity. Representing a case in that capacity would break me mentally. It was well said that defenders must “go at war with the system even when the client is guilty”.
Whether a judge should be elected or appointed has been a topic for discussion since the creation of a judicial system. Depending on what side of the decision one may be on, there are some challenges that arise from each side. If a judge is elected, will he be judicious in his decision based on the law or based on his constituents? If the judge is appointed, will he be subject to the authority that appointed him, thereby slanting his decision to keep favor of the executive or legislator that appointed him? Mandatory retirement is also a question that brings about challenges. How old is too old? When does a judge become ineffective based on their age?
An attorney is like any other profession, such as a doctor, mechanic, accountant, or engineer, there are good ones, and there are bad ones. With lawyers, it is extra tough for the average person to tell the difference. Also, in a civil courthouse you do not get to pick your lawyer, you take what they give you. One attorney states that "50 percent of all people engaged in litigation will end up hating, at least, two lawyers," (Case). There are the lawyers who graduated from law school, passed the Bar Exam, and are licensed to practice law in the state, but seem to have no idea how to defend a client in a criminal case at trial due to lack of experience. Some lawyers lose sight of maintaining post-conviction alternative routes for their customers. Another source agrees quotes "The reality is that prosecutorial misconduct is at least as serious a problem at the local level, where prosecutors are less well-trained" (Lindorff). Finding an experienced lawyer who is all for the client is not as easy as it seems, but they do
There are many duties and work tasks that a victim advocate must complete. They do everything from educate the victim of his or her rights, help victims with their safety plans, help victims find transportation and shelters, and fill out paperwork and reports to law enforcement about the crime committed against them. A victim advocate also is a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear to the victim. They help the victim get through the questioning, the court appearances, the testimony they give, and notify
In the United States, the adversarial system of justice relies on ensuring a criminal defendant receives a fair trial. The sixth amendment gives defendants the right to legal representation in criminal trials even if they cannot afford one themselves. Each city and county in the United States ensures a defendant the right to counsel. There are different ways cities and counties across the United States provide representation for indigent defendants. One such approach to indigent defense is public defender programs and is a popular system used by many states today. Public defender programs have been around since the 1900’s but gained popularity throughout the years due to the many indigent defense cases.
Most public defenders have very busy schedules and maybe over 50 cases to deal with so the defendant is not priority really. According to The Bronx Defenders “A state law limited the number of caseloads New York City public defenders could take on. 400 misdemeanors or 150 felonies a year. James told The Indypendent that when the law was passed, each LAS attorney averaged 632 cases a year (Ibarra)”. What this means is that the lawyer you were appointed doesn 't really have time to break down your case and try to get you off but maybe get you a good plea deal. In the movie Twelve Angry Men juror number 8 wasn 't completely sure if the boy did it or not so he voted not guilty. The two witnesses that was present to the crime had strong statements. As a lawyer your job is to discredit the witness but do to the public defendants lack of skill he let the jury hear the testimonials of the witnesses and put his client 's life in the jury 's hands. Ultimately juror number eight did the lawyers job for the kid and got him off. All in all most public defenders don’t really go deep into the case to see if their clients can win due to their overload of cases. The court appoints a lot of cases to public defenders, and ultimately overwhelms the lawyer and they fail to do their job correctly which puts a lot of underprivileged/poor or even innocent people in
The role of the defense attorney is just as important. Unlike prosecutors, the defense attorney works for the accused. It is their duty to prove that the defendant is innocent. If they cannot prove innocence, they should present mitigating factors to get a ...
They are hired by the defendant and sometimes even appointed to someone that is not able to pay for one. The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees every person the right to be represented by a qualified attorney. In Miranda V. Arizona, the Supreme Court mandated that every person who is arrested be informed of this right and that if they cannot afford an attorney, the court will provide one (Klein, 2012). These defense attorneys are impelled by law to assist their clients by making sure that they are treated fairly by the United States justice system. Their jobs see that people are granted the right to a trail by a jury of their peers, the right of innocent until proven guilty, the right to a speedy and public trial, and the right to remain silent (Klein, 2012). Lawyers are a necessary part of the criminal justice system.
Attorneys ensure that society has a place to seek and obtain justice, giving confidence that restitution and retribution can occur within the law. Attorneys have a difficult job. They must know the laws like they know the back of their hands. Attorneys attend school just as long or even longer than most doctors. They have the difficult job of defending their clients or prosecuting the bad guys.
you need nether three or four years to get a doctorate degree, or a law degree.
I have chosen to use a criminal defense lawyer as my primary legal career for this discussion board. A criminal defense lawyer, is a lawyer who specializes in defending an individual or a company that has been charged with a crime. Criminal defense lawyers have to deal with many different circumstances. For instance, arrests, criminal charges, investigations, sentencing, appeals, and even post-trial issues. However, a lot of criminal defense lawyers will choose to specialize in a certain type of criminal defense. For instance, drug defense, or even DUI defense. Criminal defense lawyers often have to work out substantive issues in connection with their clients supposed crime. Many times criminal defense lawyers will be helping a client even before charges have been filed against them by
There are many different tasks of a Lawyer that vary according to the legal jurisdictions and type of lawyer one is. Some of the general roles are: