There are three systems used by states to deliver legal services to indigent defendants. What are these three systems, and what are the pros and cons of each?

Answer 1

When a defendant is said to be indigent, they are unable to afford to pay for their defense in court. Generally, this resolves around the fees an attorney would charge to represent them in the court proceedings. When this occurs, the state (or county) must provide representation (an attorney) to the defendant. This was not commonplace until the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright.

The three systems used by states to provide these services are:

1.) Assigned Counsel

2.) Public Defender

3.) Contractual Arrangement/Agreement

Assigned counsel systems utilize a list of available attorneys and a judge or court administrator assigns the case to the attorney. The defendant may be appointed an attorney who is otherwise unaffordable; however, the defendant may also be assigned an attorney who is not as familiar with the specific case details.

Public defenders are hired by the state (or county) to defend those who cannot afford representation. In this system, a public defender may have large caseloads, lower pay than private attorneys, and have limited time to dedicate to any one case.

In a contractual arrangement system, private attorneys, law firms, or associations enter into a contract with the state (or county) to provide legal services to indigent defendants for a set fee and/or time period.