Court Appointed Lawyer

**kittycat4** · 10-02-2007, 05:49 AM

I have started to look for an attorney to represent my husband and myself for a shoplifting misdeamer offense.

question - is a court appointed attorney and a public defender the same thing?

**kittycat4** · 10-02-2007, 06:18 AM

Also, I just contacted an attorney (free consulttantion); and this is what he said: "It is also possible that we could negotiate a deal with the prosecutor that, if you do community service and pay a small fine, the charges would be dismissed. This would mean that you would not have a conviction of any of this on your record."

Is this possible? (not having a conviction on our record?)

**aaron** · 10-02-2007, 06:24 AM

Quoting kittycat4

question - is a court appointed attorney and a public defender the same thing?

They're close. A "public defender's office" is a government-funded office of defense lawyers. Normally when somebody refers to a "public defender" they mean somebody who works for such an office. A court may appoint the public defender's office to represent a defendant (assuming there is one in the county), so in that sense the public defender is a court-appointed attorney. But they're typically referred to as a "public defender".

Many counties instead rely upon lawyers in private practice who accept cases assigned by the courts, and even with a public defender's office there are times when somebody outside the office must represent the defendant (e.g., when the public defender's office has a conflict of interest). In those situations, the private lawyer appointed to represent the defendant is usually referred to as a court-appointed attorney.

Quoting kittycat4

Also, I just contacted an attorney (free consulttantion); and this is what he said: "It is also possible that we could negotiate a deal with the prosecutor that, if you do community service and pay a small fine, the charges would be dismissed. This would mean that you would not have a conviction of any of this on your record."

Is this possible? (not having a conviction on our record?)

Yes, it is. The availability of such dispositions can vary by state, county, and prosecutor's office policy, but if the lawyer you consulted believes you would qualify for diversion or deferment you probably do.

**kittycat4** · 10-02-2007, 06:30 AM

I thought that once you are arrested for a criminal charge (in our case shoplifting 1st offense misddeamer) - it is on our records forever, and ever.

I want to be sure to select an attorney that is telling me the truth.

**aaron** · 10-02-2007, 06:37 AM

If you were arrested, there would be an arrest record. Whatever else might appear in your record depends upon the nature of the diversion program or deferment. Here the reference was apparently to not having a conviction on your record - that's a reference to the disposition of the charge, not a promise that there would be no record that you were ever charged.