Public defenders must request funds to pay for costs associated with a defense (or the costs may be passed along to the defendant) and they lack support staff. Investigating, preparing a case, and hiring experts takes money and manpower. Using a public defender is like going to a family doctor when you really need a heart surgeon. Public defenders are licensed attorneys, but they are not specialized and because of a high turnover of clients may not have the solid field experience a seasoned private attorney has. That simply is not enough time to prepare a good legal defense. In Michigan, a public defender typically handles 100 to 200 cases at a time and in many situations may not even have your case information in front of him or her until a day before you go to court. Perhaps the three most important downsides to consider when deciding on whether or not using a public defender is right for you are: They are limited in their time, resources, choices, and authority. Public defenders are government-paid, court-appointed attorneys. Three Downsides of Using a Public Defender As a result of his public defender’s budget restraints, Fred Mardlin went to prison for arson and insurance fraud.Ĭases like Mardlin’s are not unique in Michigan because of the overburdened and underfunded public defense system that fails us in many ways."anyone who can afford to hire a private attorney should do so." - Quote from the Washtenaw County public defender website. His public defender was not able to get the financial resources approved to hire an expert to show the fire was an electrical fire that was not intentionally set.
Ask Fred Mardlin, a 32-year-old father who spent three years in a Michigan jail for an arson crime he says he did not commit.
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