If the public defender office is appointed to represent you, there will be no charge to you for their services. Furthermore, there will be no filing fees charged for any legal papers filed in your case.
Most criminal cases begin with a preliminary hearing at the District Judge level. You should contact the District Judge office where your preliminary hearing is to be held, inform them that you are requesting a public defender. They will then make the determination as to whether you qualify. Skip to Main Content. Loading Close. Most work only on certain types of caes, so public defenders are very familiar with the justice system. Court appointed lawyers are also actively practicing lawyers and usually very experienced in the type of cases in which they accept court appointments.
Some counties do not have a Public Defender's Office. In those counties, judges appoint lawyers who regularly practice in their courts or are on a court-appointed list indicating they will accept a court apopinted case.
Those lawyers are paid from the court fund. Sometimes it would be impossible for the Public Defender's Office to fairly represent an individual's witness against one of their clients. Sometimes the judge appoints a publice defender for one parent, when both parents are charged with child abuse or neglect.
The Public Defenders Office would have a 'conflict of interest' if they represented both parents. In those cases, a judge will appoint a private attorney, called a conflict attorney, instead of a public defender for the other parent or for the child. Pauper's Affidavit.
Criminal Law Problems. Live Chat click here. Utility payment help, rent payment help, food pantries and more Dial from any phone. L aw H elp. These private attorneys are not public defenders, but they serve as court-appointed counsel. The Public Defender and all Assistant Public Defenders in Nashville are licensed attorneys who have graduated from law school and passed the Tennessee bar exam.
No — public defenders work for their clients. The rules of ethics we must follow as lawyers require us to advocate for our clients, and only our clients, at all times, regardless of how we are paid.
Public defenders in Nashville are not employed by the State of Tennessee — they are employees of Metro Government. If you have received a state citation, you have been charged with committing a crime. While this may not seem serious, you should not appear in court without a lawyer.
The law can be complicated, and neither the District Attorney nor the Judge is required to explain to you all the laws important to your case.
That court date is listed on the bottom right corner of your citation. We recommend that you come in as soon as possible after receiving your citation, and at least 2 days before your court date.
If you miss a court appearance, the Judge usually issues a warrant for your arrest also called a capias. If this happens and you have a lawyer, you should contact your lawyer immediately for help.
You should come to our Office as soon as you can to apply for our help. If we are unable to help you, you will need to turn yourself in to police to be served with the warrant. Attorneys can be hard to reach by phone because they are often away from their desks — in court, visiting clients at the jail, or in meetings. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are busy court days in Nashville — especially in the mornings.
You can also write your lawyer a letter, or ask your lawyer if there is a time that is best for you to call. A conviction occurs when you plead guilty to a crime, or when a judge finds you guilty of a crime after a trial. A law passed in in Tennessee allows someone with a single conviction on his or her record to have that conviction expunged, but ONLY for certain misdemeanor and E felony offenses, and ONLY if the defendant has met certain conditions and pays the expunction fee.
The short answer is, usually not. You should first discuss the problem with your lawyer — he or she may be able to fix the problem. The supervisor will hear your concerns, and attempt to find the best solution. Usually, that does not involve changing lawyers. If your lawyer is a court-appointed attorney, only the Judge can appoint a different lawyer to represent you.
If you are unhappy with your lawyer, you should discuss the problem with your lawyer first.
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