SANTA CRUZ COUNTY CALIFORNIA HOME CLEAR YOUR RECORD FAQS CONTACT US ABOUT LINKS INTERNSHIPS Selecteer een taal Nederlands Afrikaans Albanees Amharisch Arabisch Armeens Azerbeidzjaans Baskisch Bengaals Birmaans Bosnisch Bulgaars Catalaans Cebuano Chichewa Chinees (traditioneel) Chinees (vereenvoudigd) Corsicaans Deens Duits Esperanto Ests Fins Frans Fries Galicisch Georgisch Grieks Gujarati Haïtiaans Creools Hausa Hawaïaans Hebreeuws Hindi Hmong Hongaars Iers Igbo IJslands Indonesisch Italiaans Japans Javaans Jiddisch Kannada Kazachs Khmer Kinyarwanda Kirgizisch Koerdisch Koreaans Kroatisch Lao Latijn Lets Litouws Luxemburgs Macedonisch Malagasi Malayalam Maleis Maltees Maori Marathi Mongools Nepalees Noors Odia (Oriya) Oeigoers Oekraïens Oezbeeks Pashto Perzisch Pools Portugees Punjabi Roemeens Russisch Samoaans Schots Keltisch Servisch Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovaaks Sloveens Soendanees Somalisch Spaans Swahili Tadzjieks Tagalog Tamil Tataars Telugu Thai Tsjechisch Turkmeens Turks Urdu Vietnamees Wels Wit-Russisch Xhosa Yoruba Zoeloe Zweeds Mogelijk gemaakt door Translate "In our adversary system of criminal justice, any person hauled into court who is too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him." - Justice Hugo Black Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, at 345 (1963) Do I need a lawyer? The U.S. Supreme Court has stated "Lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries." (Gideon, supra at 344) "The very premise of our adversary system of criminal justice is that partisan advocacy on both sides of a case will best promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free". (Herring v. New York, 422 U.S. 853, at 862) "Of all the rights that an accused person has, the right to be represented by counsel is by far the most pervasive for it affects his ability to assert any other rights he may have". (U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, at 654) Additionally, criminal convictions can trigger more than direct consequences such as jail, fines, and fees. They can also affect your or a person's employment opportunities, voting rights, deportability, access to student loans, public housing, state licensing for various professions, and other collateral consequences. Yes, it's best to have a skilled lawyer guide you through the criminal justice process. It's the responsible thing to do. How do I get a Public Defender? Generally, the court determines financial eligibility and then assigns a public defender at your first courtroom appearance at arraignment. Our office has lawyers in all criminal courtrooms every work day. If you need legal assistance for a police interrogation or line-up, call our office directly for advice and service. You can also contact us via our contact page. BIGGAM, CHRISTENSEN AND MINSLOFF SANTA CRUZ OFFICE: 2103 NORTH PACIFIC AVENUE SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060 WATSONVILLE OFFICE: 315 MAIN STREET SUITE 203 WATSONVILLE, CA 95076 SE HABLA ESPAÑOL