Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

In the musical "Avenue Q" there are some characters called the "Bad Idea Bears," and they could have come up with this one. First of all, don't ever tell anybody at your law school that you are accused of a crime. The conventional and accepted wisdom in your chosen profession is that 1) all criminal defendants lie; and 2) all criminal defendants are guilty. For all I know, you might really be wrongfully accused, but in my law career and everyone else's law career the overwhelming majority of defendants who claim they were wrongfully accused are psychos, or liars, or both. What I am trying to say is that your Law Prof won't believe you and if you confide, he or she will find a way to give you the worst possible grade on your final exam even though grading is supposed to be anonymous. All of the above notwithstanding, it would probably be a conflict of interest for your Law Prof to represent you. You need legal representation because if you are convicted of theft your life will be royally messed up not only because of the fact that you might well flunk the State Bar moral character evaluation, but every convicted thief finds it nearly impossible to get any job that doesn't involve burgers and fries. Good luck, keep your mouth shut, best of luck, and feel free to call or write. Have your legal representation lined up well in advance of your first court date.

I agree with Mr. Stone that asking your law professor to represent you would be a bad idea, but I'm not sure I agree that it would pose a conflict for the professor. Then again, I doubt a real law student would need to ask this question, or that he would use the word "teacher" to describe a professor.

One final point: you could only hire your professor if he or she is admitted in your jurisdiction and agrees to represent you -- and if you pay her fee.

If they practice criminal defense day in & day out, routinely appear in the court where your case will be heard and agree to take the case, sure.

Aside from those hurdles that you probably can't overcome, you probably want to keep your academic life and personal life separate. Think about different counsel.

As long as he is a licensed attorney, and is actually an experienced criminal defense attorney you can trust, sure. Otherwise, look elsewhere.