Asked in Criminal Law for Texas

Q: If I dismiss my court appointed attorney can the judge still proceed with pretrial and trial which is two weeks apart

I informed them the court that I wasn't taking a plea when I'm not guilty of the charges . They proceeded with a pretrial after I mentioned wanting the attorney I'm going to hire to be present for pretrial but the judge proceeded anyway . He also refused to take my dismissal of the court appointed attorney seriously . Whom is pushing hard for ne to take a plea and I'm not guilty of the charge . I need a lawyer I can afford that will defend me . I'm not in the wrong.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Kiele Linroth Pace
Kiele Linroth Pace
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Austin, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: The judge has wide discretion over the docket and may be concerned that you are changing attorneys simply as a delay tactic. One of the risks of changing attorneys so close to the trial date is the new attorney might not have enough time to be as prepared as she would normally want to be.

If you have not already hired an attorney, avoid anyone that says that 2 weeks is no problem or that they can wing it. Those people are probably not trying to win. Instead, hire someone who will force the judge to rule on a motion for continuance that raises the concern of ineffective assistance so that the issue is preserved for appeal.

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