The purpose of this article is to address the myths about public defenders and an epidemic that I have seen in New Jersey with regard to private lawyers that handle criminal defense. As I am not licensed to practice in any other state, this article pertains only to New Jersey and is based solely on my opinion.

Public opinion about public defenders

Public defender's get a bad rap. The stereotype is that the public defenders are not nearly as good as private lawyers and thus, you have a greater chance of winning your case with a private attorney. Like just about any stereotype, this is untrue. Public defenders are like any other group of people. There are good ones and there are bad ones. In my opinion, the ratio between good and bad public defenders is the same as any other group of lawyers in other fields. More importantly, some of the good public defenders are much better than these good lawyers in the other fields. In New Jersey, there are just some amazingly dedicated public defender's that have led the way in so many areas and they don't really get the credit they deserve. In many cases, they do the hard work and us private lawyers use it for our own glory.

All that being said, this stereotype must come from somewhere. First, you must realize that public defender's are at a great disadvantage in the courtroom. The budget for the public defender's office has been slashed lately. Some offices are operating with just a few investigators. Compare that to a prosecutor's office who not only have access to local and state police, but they have their own staff of detectives and investigators. They also have scores of secretaries, law clerks, interns, paralegals and other support staff.

Second, public defender's are incredibly overwhelmed. They may go to court with dozens of files where as the average private lawyer may only have one or two. Thus, they can be going to court for well over 50 files in one week whereas the private lawyer may have less that five. As there is only so much time in the day, it is obvious as to which lawyer may have the advantage with regard to preparing the file and research. Of course, that is just perception and I know some great public defender's that somehow find the time to do great research and write killer briefs.

Finally and most importantly, public defender's are not incredibly worried about their reputation and image. That is not to say they don't care, but private lawyers live and die based upon their reputation. Public defender's are not getting paid by their clients. Thus, while they want to do a good job, they may not want to sit there and coddle the client and make sure that the client thinks that they are the best. This may seem odd to most. If the public defender is doing a good job, shouldn't the client recognize that? Not at all. People are very emotional. You can get the greatest result for the client, but if they are not handled the right way, they will not like you. If you get them a bad result, but went about it the right way, they may think you are the best. Since public defender's are very busy and may not be terribly concerned with their image, the client may form a negative opinion about the public defender even though it is totally unwarranted.

Private pretenders

As I indicated previously, one of the key differences between public defender's and private lawyers is that the private lawyer is concerned about reputation. While the end result itself may not always carry the day, it is incredibly important. Thus, it follows that a private lawyer should be more motivated than a public defender to achieve a better result. Of course, this is not always the case.

There is a serious epidemic in New Jersey of what I like to call the private pretender. Many lawyers view criminal defense as the art of begging for a better deal and holding the client's hand while they take the deal that is rarely the best one they could (or should) have received. There are two types.

The first type is the lawyer that does not always handle criminal law. However, if a minor criminal matter comes across their desk, they figure that they can take a few bucks to walk the client into court and plea him or her out. Thus, from the beginning of the case the lawyer has decided that the client will not win the case. How do they get clients? Usually from friends and family members or prior clients who come back to them. For example, the lawyer may handle a real estate closing for the client as real estate is big part of the practice. When the son of this client gets busted for selling pot, the client calls up the lawyer. Instead of referring out the case, they figure they can walk into court and beg for a plea as good as any other lawyer can. There may be little to no thought into reviewing the case and doing the research to decide how to win the case. In addition, the thought of taking the case to trial may never have entered the lawyer's mind. In fact, I know many lawyers that seem to absolutely fear trials

The second type is the lawyer that handles a lot of criminal law. While the lawyer may file a motion or two and take the occasional case to trial, the goal is to always plea out the client and move on to the next case. For example, I had one lawyer tell me that he doesn't care if his client has a criminal record and that all that matters is to keep his client out of prison. As a professional in every thing I do, I personally find this appalling. These lawyers generally dislike their practice and their clients. This makes sense since it would be difficult to find joy in something so meaningless. I love my job because I enjoy fighting for my clients. I treat my clients like friends and I live, sleep, eat and breathe their cases.

So why would anyone hire these guys? The simple answer is money. Lawyers only have time to sell. We can't order more of that from China like it is a product. Thus, a more popular lawyer will charge more for his or her time. Otherwise, the lawyer will have too many cases and will soon no longer be considered a good lawyer. In addition, if a lawyer will do more work on a case, it will cost more money. This is the reason why a speeding ticket case and a murder case are two vastly different prices. Because these private pretenders have no real reputation to trade on, they will take very serious cases for next to nothing. They can do this because they will also do nothing for the client. Thus, even though their retainer may seem small, their profit margin is very high.

Why isn't this obvious? My best guess is that clients can trick themselves into thinking that a private lawyer will do better for them that the public defender. This is largely due to the perceptions about public defender's that I previously described. As a result, clients will feel better having someone that they paid standing next to them even if they are getting completely run over by the system. In addition, the other lawyer will probably promise them the sun, the moon and the starts just to get their money. Finally, clients may not fully understand the concept of quality legal research, writing, advocacy, innovation and determination. They tend to think that lawyers are all the same. Of course, nothing can be farther from the truth.

Conclusion

In my opinion, it is always a better choice to get a private lawyer that you can choose and that will be held accountable for the results. You can't choose the public defender you receive so you must hope that he or she can and will do the job. At the same time, the expression "you get what you pay for" should always be kept in mind when selecting a lawyer. Just because you paid for one does not mean he or she is better than one you could get for free.

While this article is largely focused on the prices of lawyers, you should not assume that every expensive lawyer is good and every less-expensive lawyer is bad. There are plenty of exceptions to this for numerous reasons. Price is only one factor among many that should be taken into account when selecting a lawyer. Unfortunately, too many people use this as the only factor. The bottom line is, if you do qualify for a public defender it may not make sense to spend a few dollars on a cheap private pretender because you fear the stereotype of the public defender. Get to know the public defender and what he or she will do for you, Never just assume that a private lawyer will do a better job. If you are going to get a private lawyer, get the one that will be the best for your case. Since your life is on the line in way or the other, you should do everything you can to retain the best lawyer for your case.

Jef Henninger, Esq. is an attorney with Jack Venturi & Associates. He has four offices in New Jersey: Toms River, New Brunswick, Eatontown and Monroe. His practice focuses on white collar crime, criminal defense, family law, small business litigation and identity theft. For more information, visit http://www.tomsriverattorney.net/