court-appointed lawyer
State-assigned legal counsel
A court-appointed lawyer is an attorney assigned by a judge to represent someone who cannot afford to hire their own.
In the United States, this right is guaranteed in criminal cases by the Sixth Amendment.
The term often implies lesser quality than private counsel, though this varies widely: He got stuck with a court-appointed lawyer who barely looked at his case.
- Sixth AmendmentConstitutional trial protections
- public defenderAttorney representing those unable to afford one
- legal representationAttorney acting on behalf
- judgeOne who decides
- arraignmentCharge-reading court session
right to counsel · defendant rights · Miranda rights · defense attorney · prosecutor · confidentiality · conflict of interest · legal aid · sentencing hearing · due process · competence · state bar · legal fees · jury · fair trial · plea bargain · equal protection · counsel
- lawyersattorney, defense attorney, defense counsel, counselor, public defender
- legal professionalsattorney, barrister, solicitor, counsel, judge
- defendant rightsright to counsel, Miranda rights, Miranda warning, presumption of innocence, right to silence
- Public Defensepublic defender, defense attorney, defense counsel, right to counsel, public defender office
- representativesrepresentative, delegate, deputy, rep, proxy
- interrogation rightsMiranda rights, Miranda warning, right to silence, right to counsel, self-incrimination
court, courts, courted, courting, courtly, courtship, courthouse, courtroom, courtyard