Indigent defendants are guaranteed the right to appointed counsel
In the legal sense, the term “indigent” has a precise legal meaning because it is tied to the Fifth Amendment right of the accused to be provided counsel as promised in the reading of a defendant’s Miranda right.
Under such circumstances, an attorney is appointed by the state at no charge. Having the right to counsel at no charge is the good news. The not-so-good news is that the appointed lawyer will be a public defender. While these are highly trained and dedicated lawyers, the reality is that they are overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and under-resourced.
According to the Justice Department, nearly seventy percent of Federal defendants charged with a felony are represented by a public defender. In many state courts, the number of defendants charged with a felony represented by a public defender is nearly eighty percent.
These facts should not imply that public defenders are not competent lawyers. They are usually very competent; most have more trial experience than private criminal defense lawyers.
Public defenders are required to defend a high volume of cases while lacking the resources prosecutors enjoy, such as teams of investigators, paralegals that prepare and oppose motions, a support staff that coordinates witnesses, and manages incoming and outgoing discovery requests and responses.
In addition to these challenges, public defenders are underpaid compared to their counterparts in the prosecutor’s office. In most cases, prosecutors can earn nearly a third more than a public defender.
