Q: Hi My friend is in jail right now & his charge is burglary entry. Plus he also had some missed court dates for tickets
As for now he only has a public defender would it be better for him to get an actual lawyer ?
A: I believe what you meant to ask is whether you should retain a private attorney. Depending on the grading of the charge, your friend faces considerable time behind bars in state prison if he is convicted. With that in mind, you want him to be presented by an attorney who represents him and him alone. And attorney who is not handling hundreds of other cases and can dedicate the time and resources and investigation to win your friends release.
A: A public defender is a lawyer its just many don't seem like them because they tend to be overworked, underpaid and thus under a lot of stress. A private attorney based on who you pick could get him a better result but maybe not as everything is dependent on the facts of his particular case. The reason why people choose private lawyers is because they have more time to devote to the case (as much as your willing to spend for) and time working on a case by a lawyer generally saves time for the client in jail, but again you can get a bad private lawyer just like a bad public defender. In any event he is facing a lot of time in jail for this type of offense so choose your lawyer wisely.
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