I got busted a few years back, and I'm just curious as to how bad I got screwed. My cousin and I were busted for simple possesion & paraphernalia during a traffic stop. At our first court appearance we were told by the judge that we could not get a public defender because we made too much money. I had never heard of that before, I thought everyone was entitled to a lawyer. At the time we were each taking home <$300 weekly.

This was a few years ago, and I learned a lot from my mistakes. Mainly, ALWAYS get a lawyer. This has just always bothered be, and I'd like to know if anyone else has ever heard of anything like this.

Ya sounds a bit bogus. 300 a week is min wage so i dont know what the judge was talking about.

Only the indigent are allowed free representation. Generally most states will give you an attorney if you fall below the Federal poverty line. Lots of exceptions though, capital murder is automatic attorney team, etc. What state were you in?

the eligibility standards for a public defender would be the same as the eligibility criteria for the state's W2 program. The eligibility standards take into account an individual's assets and income. Assets can total no more than $2,500, excluding up to $30,000 for a home and $10,000 for a vehicle. Income is based on Federal Poverty Levels. A single person can make no more than $978 a month and a family of three can have an income of no more than $2,647 a month.

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the miranda right you are read clearly state "IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD AN ATTOURNEY ONE WILL BE APPOINTED TO YOU"
so yeah if you make over say 10 or so dollars an hour you make too much for a freebie.
however ... unless you are absolutly desperate stay away from the "public pretender"
i was in court on a driving on suspended and it was a 3rd offense. the public defender said he could get me a plea deal that if i plead guilty i could get 10 months in jail.
i said are you fucking nuts ?? ive never gotten more than 5 days for a suspended lic.
so i walked over to the prosecutor and said this is my name and i'll plead guilty for 10 days not 10 months ... he said deal.
i figure i coulda prolly gotten 8 days but oh well. then i walked over and told the pub. pretender he was fired ... 10 months my ass he was trading me off for another of his clients im sure. they are in too tight with the prosecution. worthless imo
pay for an attourney if you can

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It was in Tennessee. I went to court without an attorney and ended up with an $1,100 fine and a year of unsupervised probation. It was nothing but a shakedown, plain and simple. At first my fine would be "no more than $900." Then it would "definitely be under $1000." They knew I was ignorant of the law, but responsible enough to pay whatever they told me I had to pay.

If I had it to do over again, I would not have gone in there without a lawyer. A lawyer could have cost me $1,000 and I think the case would have been thrown out. I didn't know anything about going to court, but am pretty well aware of my rights with respect to leo. I think the traffic stop was very questionable to begin with. I talked to a couple attorneys before going to court, and they all knew who the arresting officer was, and he is well known in the area for his "interesting" traffic stops.

It's all in the past now though, and I've taken precautions to make sure I won't be caught in the same situation again. Bottom line for anyone reading this...GET A FUCKING LAWYER. Do whatever it takes to come up with the money for one. The system is set up to get as much money as possible from honest, upstanding citizens while setting up a revolving jailhouse door approach for those with nothing to contribute to society.

thats for damn sure

At my arraignment (the preliminary hearing to determine probable cause):

Sir I intend on pleading guilty (hand judge an unsigned plea of guilty it is a proposed plea at this time, so they can't say I am refusing to enter plea), but I am not a lawyer and I don't understand everything, I just have a few questions before I can do that?
What are your questions?
Am I entitled to a fair hearing?
Yes
Am I entitled to a meaningful hearing?
yes
Would a fair and meaningful hearing require responsive answers to my questions?
yes
Are you or the prosecutor allowed to testify in the proceedings?
no
Are the prosecutors legal opinions or legal arguments admissable as evidence?
no
Do they have to be supported by testimony provided by a witness I am permitted to cross examine?
yes
Can I cross examine any and all witness used against me?
yes
Can I challenge any and all evidence used against me?
yes
When you say evidence, do you mean facts or opinions?
facts
What is the burden of proof in this matter?
(it doesn't matter what they say I just want them to admit there is a burden of proof)
Am I presumed innocent of this alleged crime?
yes
Am I presumed innocent of every element of this alleged crime?(looks like the previous question but it isn't it is more detailed)
yes
Does the burden of proof apply to each and every element of this alleged crime?
yes
Is jurisdiction an element of this alleged crime?
yes
So you (sir / ma'am) presume there is no jurisdiction?
OH No I've got jurisdiction!!!
I am confused, you said that i was presumed innocent of every element of this alleged crime and you said that the burden of proof applied to every element. Then you said that jurisdiction was an element, But if you are presuming jurisdiction then I am not rally presumed innocent, am I?
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this is just a sample for entertainment purposes and to get you thinking

Never take a position, you let them take a position then phrase the next question in relation to the position they just took.

I just got busted a couple months back in a small town in Tennessee where I go to school. I had 2 bags of green and my brand new pipe i had for 27 hrs, The One Night Stand, and walked away with a simple possession and paraphernalia citation. But i've never had even a simple traffic violation. My friend that was with me also got arrested about 3 weeks later, and his attorney said there's "a chance" he could get this expunged from his record. My question is, is paying $1500 for an attorney worth a "chance" in court?

to some people yes.
marijuana charges are BS anyways.
I know i wouldnt personally want a cannabis charge on my record, but judging by my driving record already - it doesnt matter anymore.
Funny thing is though.... you may only wind up with a 200$ fine, you may not be able to obtain certain jobs because of the charge. Some places would rather a felon over a drug convict. Bull shit, i know. But its true.

But screw the attorney. Get a public pretender (oops i mean defender). They are free, and 6/10 times they will accomplish the same goal that your lawyer did, putting 1500$ back in your pocket.

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That goes back to my original post. I wanted a public defender, but was told I probably couldn't get one. I also had just started a new job and didn't want them calling my boss to verify employment or anything like that. I figured with a defender, they'd offer me some kind of a wrist slap kind of deal. It was my first offense as well.

The point I'm trying to make is that you're gonna pay either way. You can just pay whatever fines the law allows in your state. Or you can pay a lawyer and have a chance of walking away from the whole situation. Worst case scenario with a decent lawyer is that you pay a small fine, and probably spend about the same or maybe slightly more money.

Do what you want to do, but I'd rather have a chance of getting off if I'm gonna spend the money anyway.

Sorry if I rambled, I'm a little baked this morning.