When a person gets legal notice for pressing charges against him, he quickly needs to make some decisions whether to accept the charges and punishments or showing up at the hearing, etc. but from them, the right decision is to research and find a lawyer. They will increase your confidence and the rate of winning the case.
If you are financially unstable, the judge will assign the case to a public defender. Either way, you need the guidance of a lawyer to run the case or submit your plea for bail. Your case could be sexual assault, DWI, drug possession, or any other criminal offence, you have every right to defend yourself before the jury.
Reach out to the best lawyer, you can think of and appoint a skilled, experienced, knowledgeable one. They will find the proper resources, evidence, and try to defend you in court. So, let us sum up information on paid lawyer vs public defender to help you in times of danger.
Paid lawyer Vs Public Defender Whom You Should Choose
1. Public Defender
A public defender is a lawyer appointed by the state in case the accused party financially cannot afford a lawyer. The defendant doesn’t pay his bills. So, they sometimes handle the case with less priority. Besides, they have huge workloads, little time, and highly underpaid.
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Advantages
The first and foremost merit of having a public defender is that you don’t need to pay him. The state will pay and appoint him.
Secondly, the public defence lawyer deals with these types of cases and the jury every day. So, they may get special treatment in terms of submitting a plea for you.
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Disadvantages
As you are not paying him or the winning or losing doesn’t lessen his salary, they will give you less priority.
They have hundreds of cases hanging over their neck, and the number of public attorneys is very poor. So, to focus on a case, attentively cannot be asked from them. In most cases, you even don’t get to talk to him for more than 5-10 minutes, and that is also just before the hearing.
The judge will choose the attorney for you. So, your choice and comfort don’t get valued here.
2. Paid Lawyer
A paid lawyer is a lawyer you hire by paying huge money to run your case. It may be expensive, but there is an assurance of winning your case. Again, if not, you can get a refund. In this legal business, you hear a good reputation about a law firm and hire a lawyer according to your budget.
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Advantages
The advantage of a private lawyer is that you can choose your lawyer whoever seems the best for you. You can get an appointment and time from them. They will listen to your case, investigate properly.
To step up their reputation, they will try their best to win your case. They will go to the crime spot, investigate the suspects and evidence, take time and apply tactics to win the case for you.
Private lawyers also have extra staff, coordinators, and associates to assist them in tight schedules. That’s why they can help you even if they are not available.
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Disadvantages
The hired private lawyer’s expanse is very high. They will charge you according to your status in society. Sometimes in settlement cases, they may ask for up to 35% of your compensation. Sometimes they create a loophole in the retainer agreement and don’t give you back the refund money.
If your case is a serious one, they may charge you a substantial amount. Everyone wants to get a good lawyer and in this serious situation, people with a low financial situation, are helpless and falls victim to different scams.
3. Statistics of Success
Undoubtedly, the paid lawyer would give your case their utmost priority, whereas a public defender will not have enough time to attend you properly. A study says that there are 25% chances you will get longer punishment if you choose public defender.
There was another study in Ohio done by Morris Hoffman. He took data from 5,200 cases and concluded that a paid lawyer would ensure you almost 3 years of less punishment.
Conclusion
we can assume that paid lawyers are more efficient and dependable in handling a case. But that doesn’t mean that public defenders aren’t efficient enough. Remember, we are not giving you any legal advice here. Just to give you an idea about what to choose in time of crisis.