Q: Am I assigned a public defender when arrested?
I was pulled over saturday night, the officer gave me a duid ticket. I did have my blood drawn at the hospital. I recently had 5 teeth pulled wednesday so i did let the officer know that i am prescribed medication for the pain. I had not taken these medication all day saturday. The officer i feel harrassed me because of the shirt i was wearing and the fact that i had no top teeth. he asked my 3 times when and if i did heroin. I told him never every single time. I have 2 vices... smoking cigarettes and having an occasional drink. i do not want to be screwed over by the legal system as i am an outstanding citizen that does follow the law. even before they took me away to the hospital they were going to leave my car parked in front of a fire hydrant and i kindly asked them if they could move it. they did, but would someone under the influence care about something like that? i dont think so. what are my rights and will i have a state appointed attorney to help me out.
A: On your first appearance, the court will ask you whether or not you want to hire an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will ask you to fill out a form so that a public defender could represent you.
A: Your income would need to fall below a certain threshold to be assigned a public defender. You'll need to fill out an application and submit it to the court. You will also need to submit income documentation to the public defender's office.
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