How good are public defenders in minimizing or dropping drug and DWI charges in New Jersey?
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at
4:30 pm
jeanpier l asked:
I am being charged with DWI and posession of drugs inside of a vehicle. I am in a really tight situation and am considering just getting a public online drugs defender becuase i cannot afford a lawyer. At the preliminary they told me i prob could qualify for a public defender, but all of my friends are highly advising against it. They say that public defenders dont fight for you and that they dont care. They just work for the state and cater to the prosecuters interests more than to yours. Is this true?
I am being charged with DWI and posession of drugs inside of a vehicle. I am in a really tight situation and am considering just getting a public online drugs defender becuase i cannot afford a lawyer. At the preliminary they told me i prob could qualify for a public defender, but all of my friends are highly advising against it. They say that public defenders dont fight for you and that they dont care. They just work for the state and cater to the prosecuters interests more than to yours. Is this true?
It depends on the judge.
Catch them in a good mood and you may get off with leaner charges.
Catch them in a bad mood…. watch out!
Also if the judge does not care for the Public defender then your chances are slimmer.
I worked in the NJ courts systems for over 5 years.
Yes.
Public defenders don’t usually put very much effort into their work, and will encourage you to go along with the prosecuter in order to shift the case through as rapidly as they can. There are probably exceptions but I’ve only seen them on television shows.
PUPLIC DEFENDERS ARE NOT VERY RELIABLE!!THEY ARE NOT REALLY GETTING MUCH MONEY FROM THE STATE SO YOU ARE NOT THEIR TOP PRIORITY.HAVE YOU CHECKED INTO A NO LO PLEA?MY SISTER IS A DEFENSE ATT. SHE HAS HELPED PEOPLE USE THAT PLEA.YOU CAN ONLY USE IT FOR YOUR FIRST TIME.IT COST LIKE 100 $ BUT IT WILL SAVE YOU ALOT IN THE END.
This is situation in which you have to be honest: Are you actually guilty?
Whether you have a private attourney or a public defender, you need to tell whichever one the truth regarding the situation. Since you are not lodging complaints regarding anything the officer did, I’m going to assume that you know you got busted fair and square. If so, there is probably little to no difference between getting a public defender and a private attourney. They would both work to plea deal on your behalf.
Use this as an expereince to get your life cleaned up.
Good luck.
Remember that this is your life and the choices you make right now can ultimately reflect on the future that is to come. Are you 100% sure that you cannot afford an attorney? Many good attorneys will now accept payment plans for their services. Talk to them, make your case to the attorney. Who knows? They might be able to do some pro bono work for you.
You friends are correct to direct you away from public defenders. Think of it this way, attorney’s make a lot of money. If they were worth anything, wouldn’t they be doing something else rather than being a public defender?
Finally, you need to accept the fact that right now you will be punished. There is no way to avoid this fact. Even if a plea bargain can be reached, there will still be punishment.
jeanpier l, Seek advice from a professional, they should know the ins and out of New Jersey law by heart.
My brother was in a similiar situation a while ago. It really depends on the public defender some are good some aren’t.For my brothers bail hearing the defender had no idea what was going on and he had to correct her several times while they were in front of the judge. Once he was out I found a good lawyer for him and he just put about all of his paycheck away until he had enough for the retainer.