How do you handle a problem with a court appointed lawyer? -

My boyfriend was arrested on four felony charges. He was denied bond because he had a pending charge. His court appointed lawyer told him that after his pending case was settled, he would file for another bond hearing. The pending charge has now been dismissed. Now, the lawyer is saying that you can only go for a bond hearing once. The lawyer refuses to file another bond hearing or appeal. There are two other co-defendents in the case who both received bonds. The lawyer refuses to answer any of our calls or return our calls. The one time that I was able to speak with him, he stated that he will quot;see what he can do.quot; My boyfriend can only call him collect because he is still in jail. The lawyer will not accept his calls. What can be done to handle this problem since the lawyer is a court appointed lawyer? Can he receive a different court appointed lawyer? How would we go about getting a different court appointed lawyer?

Yes, I believe that he can get another lawyer if he feels that this one is not working in his best interest. He probably has to fire this lawyer and then ask the court for a new lawyer. I m sure that he will have to let the court know that his lawyer isn t doing his job. Have him ask around at the jail where he is at to see what he has to do, there may be other people who are incarcerated who will be able to tell him what steps he needs to take to do this. But I m sure some one there will know what to do and how to do it. I m sure there will be people who have been through the system enough times to be able to let him know how to go about this. People who have been through the system usually will know how to do this, since they have gone through it enough times to know how to do it I hope that this helps you out!

Four felony charges, and yet another one pending? I m not even going to bother to ask why you hang around this guy, because I m sure that others less polite than me will do so. Court appointed lawyers are incredibly busy, and they get paid peanuts for each case--compared to what they can get representing criminals who have money. Your boyfriend is personalizing not getting answers or returned phone calls. He is not the only client the lawyer has, but there again criminals tend to be egocentric. The lawyer is not picking up the phone, and he is not returning phone calls, because he is too busy. Pure and simple. Even when you pay a lawyer with your own money, they are most reluctant to talk on the phone. They bill by the hour, and they don t want to listen to people squawking when the bill goes through the roof. You can ask for another lawyer, but even if you get a new guy I wouldn t expect him or her to be any better.

While court appointed lawyers are over worked,it is no excuse to act in this manner.Not knowing the circumstances in their entirety I would not want to second guess him on the bond hearing.Your boyfriend however,does have the right to request a different public defender,but that will be up to the court.In most cases he would have to speak to the judge about this.I would have to say that he should be able to get another bond hearing.

He will have to wait until his next court appearance and request new counsel be appointed to him. Judges do not often honor this request. He can send a letter detailing his situation to the judge. The judge may contact the attorney and schedule a hearing to discuss the issue if his next court date is a long time away.