Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

using public defender vs. private attorney in my simple case

I was arrested for writing 3 bad checks total of $550 3.5 years ago. I paid restitution and sentenced to complete ''check/fraud'' type of program but failed to complete. Rearrested 2 yrs. ago on bench warrant. Failed to complete again. Rearrested last week for bench warrant again.I hired an attorney due to seemingly lack of interest by assigned P.D. In the end the judge decided to an outcome quite different than expected from attorney. 1)was ordered to appear in court after attorney told me I didn't need to be. 2)attorney was very confident charges would be dropped due to no past criminal history, age of case & currently then (and now) no criminal activity on record except for this 1 charge I have in my lifetime. (I'm 38yo) I do not blame anything on my attorney but do not want to spend another $2000 for my irresponsible actions if the outcome will have little effect hiring attorney vs. P.D. My question is this choice going to make much of a difference in front of a judge? How much will the judge's decision be influenced by my legal representation choice? I wasn't ever under the impression his prediction of the outcome was any guarranty but it differed from greatly from our hopeful expectations. Thank you very much for your time!


Asked on 12/03/06, 1:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: using public defender vs. private attorney in my simple case

Several points:

1. If you can afford a private attorney you are not eligible for the public defender's services.

2. I don't think expecting charges to be dropped was realistic. Only the prosecutor can decide to drop charges, and the fact that she had you brought back to court suggests that she wants to pursue the case. Courts cannot dismiss charges just because they want to. Unless there is a procedural default of some kind, whether to drop the charges remains the prosecutor's decision. Someone who has twice failed to complete a sentence is not likely to win a prosecutor's sympathy.

3. A defendant's choice of representation won't influence most judges at all. Private attorneys generally have more time for a case than a public defender would. All else being equal, this means a privately-retained attorney is likely to do a better job for the client. But the reason is that the private attorney would have time to be more thorough, not that the judge would be more impressed by who you hired.

4. Finally, $2,000 seems like an unreasonably low fee to expect in your situation. If you want a better chance at getting a favorable outcome you should not just hire the cheapest private attorney you can find.

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Answered on 12/03/06, 6:57 pm


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