Legal Question in Criminal Law in Indiana

Re: public defender

Generally speaking you can always "fire" your attorney, even a public defender. However,the court would in most instances only replace one public defender for another if there are sufficient grounds to do so. It normally would not be sufficient grounds for the court to replace your public defender because you don't particularly like each other or because you feel another lawyer could do a better job. Unless the court determines that there is a conflict of interest or other factor (such as a complete breakdown of the attorney/client relationship) that prevents your current public defender from representing you, it will generally not appoint another, leaving you the options of hiring your own attorney or representing yourself.