How come I dont need a lawyer for my assault charge? -

I asked the court lady if I could get a court appointed lawyer and she brought up my charge and said I don t need a lawyer for the hearing. She said that if I was not satisfied about punishments then I could ask for another court date and get a court appointed lawyer at that time. However, I dont wont to go to court and get thrown in jail because I had no representation. Its a class A misdomener. Will they throw me in jail?????

When a charged defendant is brought before a judge for hearing, the judge will ask the defendant if he or she wants to hire an attorney privately or use a court-appointed attorney for their defense. Before a defendant can qualify for access to court-appointed attorneys, he or she must be facing a criminal charge that carries the potential for an imprisonment sentence if convicted. They must further prove indigent, not being able to afford legal counsel, and will be asked to divulge financial information verifying their situation. If the judge determines that the defendant cannot afford, counsel, they will approve the request for a court-appointed attorney. In most cases, court-appointed attorneys are not completely free of charge unless the defendant is not convicted of the crime they were originally charged with. Typically, if a defendant is convicted, a judgment is entered requiring payment based on several factors including financial situation, severity of the charge, and depth of defense. In most cases, court-appointed attorneys are less costly than private attorneys. While it is the right of all defendants to be provided with legal counsel, most middle-class Americans do not qualify financially for access to court-appointed attorneys and are forced to hire private counsel. Many people question the quality of defense provided by court-appointed attorneys who, in effect, work for the courts. However, it is their legal responsibility to defend all people fairly to the best of their ability. All persons who are facing criminal charges will be instructed with options for obtaining legal counsel. They can also call their local bar association for further information.

it s just a pre-trial hearing 2 determine if a trial is necessary. If they decide 2 procede, amp; U qualify, then the court will appoint U their puppet who will scare U into coping a plea. If U relly think U can win get a REAL lawyer.

Chances are you need a lawyer. Unfortunately I never have been sure if the classes are worse a-d or lighter a-d. The one thing that people don t understand is that they can usually always ask for a continuance. So if it s a minor thing, you can go in without a lawyer, find out what the issue is, and if you don t like how it s going, ask the judge for a continuance to obtain representation. Do not be afraid to ask the judge questions. Or even the opposing prosecutor. The smaller cases are all about burn and turn. Get people in and get them out as fast as possible as there are so many people during the day moving through the courthouse. You might not need one just for that reason, but again it depends on how serious the crime was.

if it s just a hearing, the judge will ask you how you plead, guilty/not guilty/ no contest. If you plead not guilty he ll decide if the charges and evidence warrant a trial and if they do he ll set the date. You don t need a lawyer, but you can have one there if you want. Not sure of the state, so I couldn t say if a class A misdemenor has jail time attached.