How can I obtain a court appointed attorney on short notice? 44 Answers as of November 11, 2011

Ask for a public defender. I doubt the court would deny you that right, however, it might deny you one based on the fact you waited until the last moment to ask for one.

The Public Defender may only be appointed by the Judge. You may hire an attorney at any time, or ask the judge when you show up for trial to appoint an attorney for you. The Judge may deny your request as not being timely and force you to trial.

You can ask for one but I would contact the Court immediately. The Judge may deny you if he has previously asked you and you voluntarily waived your right to counsel.

You should immediately go to the Court and ask to speak with someone about your need for a Court Appointed Attorney.

Go to the courthouse and have your file brought into court so you can make an oral request to the judge; you may also want to bring evidence of your indigent status (i.e. pay-stub, etc.).

Most judges will not appoint a public defender that late in case. You can contact the court and ask to have the matter rescheduled so that there is time for a public defender to be appointed, but I would not advise you to wait until you go into court for trial as it is highly unlikely one will be appointed that day.

Ask for a court appointed lawyer now. ASk the court, or hire a lawyer. DO NOT do this alone, you will loose. Real life does not mimic TV, the DA does not care about the truth and witnesses lie all the time.

I would contact the court clerk immediately, put the matter on calendar and ask for an attorney to be appointed. If you qualify financially, then that attorney would likely need a continuance to prepare for the trial adequately.

If you were asked if you wanted a public defender and you did not answer the judge or contact the public defender's office it is not too late. Either it is Legal Aid or the Assigned Counsel Plan or assigned Counsel Program, depending on your city. You should contact the court clerk and ask what agency to call to see if you qualify for a court appointed attorney. If you have the money to retain private counsel you will have a better chance of winning the trial.

Ask the court for a continuance and request the services of a Public Defender.

Ask the judge and tell him that you couldn't get an attorney. He (or She) will probably appoint one. If he doesn't put it on the record in open court that you tried to get an attorney and was unable to do so. This will preserve the issue of representation frop appeal if you get convicted.

You do not have an absolute right to a court appointed lawyer unless you can prove you are indigent. If you are indigent and waived your right to an attorney, you need to go back to the court where the case is pending and see if its too late to have one appointed. If you are not indigent, you will have to hire an attorney at your expense.

It is probably too late for the Public Defender (assuming you still qualify as "indigent") or any other lawyer to be prepared for your trial at this late date. Politely and formally in advance of the trial date ask the judge to appoint counsel and give you both a reasonable continuance to prepare.

I'd suggest you notify the court A.S.A.P. and say you didn't realize how expensive attorneys were, but after calling half-dozen you now realize you cannot afford one and request a public defender.

Write and deliver a letter to the Court and copy the prosecutor.

So, you don't have any lawyer? Write a letter to the judge that you changed your mind.

If you qualify for a court-appointed attorney, you should be able to get one even at this late stage upon your request. Go to the courthouse and request a form to request a court-appointed attorney, and make sure that it is acted upon by the clerk immediately given that time is of the essence with trial approaching. If all else fails, request an adjournment from the judge if you are not given a court-appointed attorney in a timely manner before trial.

You will have to appear in court and apply for a public defender. If you are denied you will either have to represent yourself or hire a private attorney.

Don't represent yourself in court.

Yes, you can still request a court appointed attorney. It may not result in a continuance of your trial date but you should be permitted to have legal counsel at trial if so entitled by law.

You need to ask the court to appoint you a lawyer ASAP. If you are qualified for a public defender, the court will assign you counsel. It is likely that your appointed attorney would be ready to trial on such short notice so you will probably have to sign a speedy trial waiver to give the lawyer enough time to prepare. If you don't qualify for a tax-payer funded attorney, you will have to hire someone and that person would also need more time to prepare. If these options don't pan out, you will have to represent yourself as best as you can. That's not easy.

You can go to the courthouse and apply for a public defender. You need to do this TODAY. One week will not allow your appointed attorney enough time to adequately prepare your case for trial and present all possible defenses you may have. You will likely need to allow your appointed attorney to request that the court continue the trial.

Go to the public defenders office and fill out the form.

It is never a good move to go forward to trial on a criminal case without an attorney. I do not understand how you could be prepared. You need to go to court and have your case put on the calendar. When your case is called tell the judge that you require an attorney before going further with your case. Ask the judge to appoint the public defender to represent you in this case. If you do not qualify for the public defender ask the judge to vacate the existing trial date and set a new date at least two months from that date. If you need to hire an attorney ask for a free consultation to go over the facts of your case. Tell the attorney what the time line is and what has happened in court. Then ask for a price to represent you in the matter.

You do not say whether or not you qualify financially for a court appointed attorney. Generally this issue is dealt with at the first court appearance. I would contact the court and see which firm handles the public defender contracts and then contact them to see if they ca be of help.

You should ask the court for one.

You can always screen for a public defender different courts have different times and mechanisms in which they screen (for financial eligibility) people for public defenders.

Contact the clerk of court or the public defender's office. Fill out the application form and turn it in as soon as you possibly can.

Find the closest public defenders office and go there to apply for a public defender.

You put your self on calendar as fast an as soon as possible and tell the court the problem. If you had originally elected to represent yourself, you may have to explain why the court should grant a delay to have new counsel come up to speed.

You need to request a continuance of the trial and request to be referred for a public defender if you qualify. The court cannot force you to trial without and attorney.

If you refused to apply for one earlier or do not qualify for a court appointed attorney you may be out of luck. Contact the Georgia Public Defende Standards Council (www.gpdsc.org) and look for your local office. Some counties have opted out of the system, however, so you may also need to check at you local courthouse. Trial without an attorney is generally a terrible idea. You may need to do some begging with the judge.

You can ask the Judge, but if you don't qualify then you don't get one. You can retry if some financial issues have come up. Otherwise, better hire yourself a lawyer for trial.