Windom, MN asked in Criminal Law and Domestic Violence for Minnesota

Q: What do you do if your public defender is not doing his job? Do I have any options.

I am being charged with a first degree burglary crime. I was offered a plea agreement which would reduce the sentence to a second degree. I am from Minnesota and there are circumstances and information that has not been considered in this case. I believe that if the judge were aware of the unprofessional misconduct of the police, investigator, and the county attorney in this case, everything would be dismissed. There are documents and proof that could be presented as well to back up my defense.

My public defender has been rude and unhelpful the whole time. If I try to request or ask something,I am told he is not going there and to just take the plea. I have my last hearing coming up next week. I do not know what I can do.

3 Lawyer Answers

A: 1. Redouble your efforts to communicate with him or her.

2. Failing that, talk to his or her supervisor about possible solutions.

3. Find money and hire a private, paid lawyer.

4. Push towards litigation and trial, rather than accepting any guilty plea bargain you are not certain about.

A: You are not entitled to the public defender of your choosing. But you can certainly raise your concerns with your public defender again or speak with his or her supervisor. Alternatively you can hit a private attorney. You need to do that sooner than later. There is no guarantee that you will get a continuance if you show up with a new attorney on the morning of trial.

But understand that you have an attorney for a reason. Attorneys are trained to evaluate the law and the facts. Just because you believe that the case should be dismissed doesn’t mean that it will be or that the law would call for the case to be dismissed.

A: You can always hire a private attorney.

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