Legal Question in Criminal Law in Utah

Re: raising money for legal fees

As long as you are acting legally, it doesn't matter how you raise funds to pay for your defense. If you ask people for money, you cannot lie to them about your purpose since doing so would amount to fraud. I doubt that your proposed newspaper ad would bring in enough funds to pay a lawyer (in fact, I doubt it would even pay for itself), but you are entitled to give it a try.

And no, there are no resources for people trying to raise money to pay for a private criminal defense attorney instead of relying on the public defender. The public defender *is* the resource society provides for defendants who can't afford private counsel.

Re: raising money for legal fees

The bottom line is, get a job. However, I can tell you that the court appointed attorneys for Utah are all competent, very committed individuals who know what they are doing. Do not make the mistake of refusing their assistance if you cannot afford a private attorney.