These documents will outline your annual income, the number of people who depend on you for financial support and other financial issues. The judge will review this statement to determine whether you qualify for free legal help. On occasion, defendants find themselves too well off to qualify for a public defender, but not financially comfortable enough to pay for a private defense counsel. In these situations, the court may appoint a lawyer to represent you, but demand that you pay a portion of the fees after the trial has ended. Most court-appointed lawyers are called either public defenders or panel lawyers.
Public defenders work full time for the state.
They dedicate their entire workday to representing indigent defendants. Panel lawyers, meanwhile, generally work in private practice and, as part of that practice, contract with the state to represent the poor. Between them, public defenders and panel lawyers represent the majority of American defendants. However, unlike those who hire their own attorneys, you will not be able to choose the lawyer appointed to represent you and, in most cases, you can't fire the lawyer if he or she fails to live up to your standards. The judge overseeing your case must approve any change in counsel and, because most courts want to bring your case to as speedy a conclusion as possible, they rarely honor requests for a switch.