Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

court appointed/hired attorney

1) Do court appointed att. also contract independently for client representation(as in work indep.,a firm not specifically for the courts)

2) Wife's in jail for probation violation with ''no bond''. Does hiring a lawyer ensure me that a bond amount will be ''set''?

3) What can i expect that amount to be? How long does it take?

4) What is a reasonable lawyer fee ?

5) If i hire an attorney to get bond ''set'' do i give up the chance of having a court appointed attorney for representation(actually going to court)

Wife's in jail, very little resources and need HELP!


Asked on 2/05/07, 10:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
michael palmer Law Office of Michael Palmer

Re: court appointed/hired attorney

To answer your questions:

1) Most court appointed attorneys also take retained cases. However, they are a few attorneys who make a living just doing court appointments.

2) Hiring an attorney does not gurantee that a bond will be set. The purpose of bond is to make sure that the defendant shows up for court. The court appointed attorney can file a motion for bond.

3)Bond gets set by Judge. It will depend on what the defendant is on probation for, criminal history and other factors.

4)I would suggest that a reasonable fee is a fee that you think is reasonable.

5) Hiring an attorney for bond will likely cause the judge to not allow a court appointed attorney. The reason is that it shows that you can afford to hire an attorney. Also if you post bond that shows that you have some money.

I suggest that you or your wife talk to the court appointed attorney to see if he or she can work out your wife's case.

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Answered on 2/05/07, 10:51 am


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