Can a court appointed lawyer legally refuse to represent a defendant?
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Can a court appointed lawyer legally refuse to represent a defendant?
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I was wondering this because currently someone in town is on trial for molesting several children, and he is being represented by a public defender.
I know I would rather dig my eyeballs out before I would go before a jury and try to convince them to let a scum like him off. Imagine what you would look like to the victim's family and to the community! And I would HAVE TO do an adequate job defending him, otherwise he could win an appeal on basis of having inadequate legal counsel.
If I were a lawyer and I were called by the court to defend someone in a "controversial" case, could I opt out and say no?
Could I do the same if the person came to me in my office on his own and asked me to represent him?
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Lawyer X
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Courts don't simply appoint attorneys at random. There is generally a list of lawyers who make themselves available to accept certain types of cases. The public defender, of course, exists to represent criminal defendants. If someone is unwilling to do that, they need to get into a different line of work.
People who do criminal defense work are committed to the concept of due process--the right of criminal defendants to be represented by counsel and ensuring that the state meets its burden of proof. Defense attorneys do not have to condone their clients' conduct or like them. Their job is make sure they get a fair trial and an competent defense. |
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Mu1
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If the court appoints a lawyer to defend someone, that lawyer is under oath to defend that someone to the best of his/her ability - the lawyer can't say "Hell no, I don't like the look of that guy!" There's no opting out. If the person came into the lawyer's office, then technically the lawyer is not supposed to refuse to defend him but he could maybe find an out - say he's not available on the relevant dates or something. |
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Stuart
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A court appointed attorney has no choice. He must provide his client a zealous defense.
A private attorney can refuse a client's request to represent him.
- Stuart |
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Inquirer
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If the court appoints a lawyer to defend an individual, the lawyer can refuse to represent the individual if there will be a conflict of interest.
If an individual comes to your office for legal representation, you can also refuse to represent them for many reasons including conflict of interest. |
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