Interesting tweet from the ACLU

Interesting tweet from the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union): “75% of public defender offices have crushing caseloads that prevent basic case investigations.”

What does this mean? Many things. Consider the following: Public Defenders are experienced attorneys with a lot of trial experience. In fact, every public defender I know in Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington and Loudoun is smart and seasoned in the courtroom. But, they handle more cases than they should, which leads you to wonder if YOUR case is receiving enough attention. Next, to qualify for a public defender or a court appointed attorney, you need to make less than about $15,000 a year. And they’re not exactly free… only if you win.

The last thing you should consider is this – If you want to receive personal attention to your case, you might still want to hire a private attorney, even if your income is less than $15,000 a year because if you’re just another file in a huge stack, you might end up paying for something.