Q: My daughter received a DV against her and makes too much for a public defender. What's are the best next steps?

A: She has two options: (1) represent herself or (2) hire an attorney. Pro se (self-represented) is not recommend unless your daughter is willing to a lot of studying because she will be facing an opposing lawyer (the DA). Some pro se parties choose to not hire a lawyer because the plan to plead guilty (every lawyer has an opinion about this approach, so I will not comment whether this is a good idea or not). If she hires an attorney she can look for an attorney who accept "limited means" clients (i.e. the attorney charges less). This list should be available from your local (county) bar association. She can also hire a normally priced attorney.

With attorney fees, there is a great deal of variation. Some legal fees are based on the age/experience of the attorney, but an issue is what fees part of the fee is used in building a case (e.g. hiring experts, independent investigations, etc.). While experience is a significant factor in "good" representation, the money and time spent on building a solid case is what wins or loses a case for the overwhelming majority of situations.

A: She has two options: (1) represent herself or (2) hire an attorney. Pro se (self-represented) is not recommend unless your daughter is willing to a lot of studying because she will be facing an opposing lawyer (the DA). Some pro se parties choose to not hire a lawyer because they plan to plead guilty (every lawyer has an opinion about this approach, so I will not comment whether this is a good idea or not). If she hires an attorney she can look for an attorney who accept "limited means" clients (i.e. the attorney charges less). This list should be available from your local (county) bar association. She can also hire a normally priced attorney.

With attorney fees, there is a great deal of variation. Some legal fees are based on the age/experience of the attorney, but an issue is what part of the fee is used in building a case (e.g. hiring experts, independent investigations, etc.). While experience is a significant factor in "good" representation, the money and time spent on building a solid case is what wins or loses a case for the overwhelming majority of situations.

A: As previously stated, she can hire an attorney or represent herself. If she is the victim of domestic violence - but her partner somehow manipulated the police into arresting HER (a common tactic of abusers), it is highly recommended that she hires an attorney - especially one who is familiar with the tactics of abusers and knows how to get their true, abusive colors to show.