Q: Can public defenders in pa also engage in private practice?
A person was turned down by public defenders office. Hired a private attorney and found out after that the attorney was actually the public defender.
A: In some counties yes. I do not know of any law or ethics code preventing it. Some counties only hire PD's on a part-time basis, especially smaller counties. The determination of getting a PD is need based. Another possibility is that attorney was a "conflicts" attorney. The PD, like all law offices, cannot represent two parties when they are going to testify against each other. So, the county has part-time PD's to take the second case. The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
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