How do I dismiss my attorney if I am in jail? 52 Answers as of December 12, 2011

The public defender is employed by the court (and the county). The judge appoints the public defender to investigate and fight for you. If you retain your own attorney, you will probably need to pay for it and possibly in advance. You can verbally tell the judge in court what your issues are. Do not say anything about the facts of what you are charged with. Everything you say can be typed down by the court reporter and later used against you. The judge has the final decision of whether he will "fire" your public defender. You may also try to contact the public defender's supervisor. I know that this may seem difficult. Public defenders work out of offices. They usually have a telephone number. They usually have a supervisor.

You must request a hearing before the court to ask for another attorney. Sometimes the court will just give you a new attorney but sometimes the judge will have you say why you want a new attorney. You do not have the right to choose your attorney if you are indigent, but you do have the right to have your attorney do her work for you.

Write a letter to your attorney and copy the court that you have discharged your counsel.

They court will be reluctant to give you another attorney. You can always hire an attorney of your own. Otherwise, if your attorney is doing something wrong, you can tell the judge that you want a marsden motion. This motion challenges the attorney to determine if they are giving you effective assistance of counsel.

There is a procedure called a Marsden hearing after a famous case. At such a hearing you can present evidence that your attorney has not been diligent in doing what is necessary to represent you and prepare the case or your communication with your attorney has irreparably broken down. It is very difficult to convince a judge to change court appointed attorneys, first, because most defendants cannot articulate an adequate showing in this regard, and, second, because so many of such motions are made against often competent attorneys who simply have not taken the time to explain what they have been doing on the case.

Write a letter to the judge and tell him or her that you want to replace your attorney.

You can replace a Public Defender with a private attorney at any time but you will have difficulty getting the Public Defender system to dismiss one attorney and assign another. When the court "gives" you an attorney, it is assigning the public defender system to your case. The court does not control which public defender within that system will handle your case.

The only way you can replace your lawyer is by hiring someone to substitute in on your case. It is very unlikely that your judge will replace your lawyer on your complaint. Instead, you should continue in your efforts to work with your lawyer without being a pest, if you know what I mean. Provide relevant information, witness names and contact information, etc. When your lawyer does with you, be prepared with your questions and information.

Try writing the judge a letter and send a copy to the attorney.

Ask the judge for a substitution of counsel. I can tell you that most likely your request will not be honored, and that you will be stuck with your present defender. Remember, public defenders have more cases than yours to handle, and I am sure she will hndle your case well, when the time comes to dispose

If you hire a private attorney they will replace your public defender. However, you cannot fire your public defender and simply ask for a different attorney.

You can discharge your public defender at your next court appearance. However you will not be granted a new one. You must either represent yourself or retain a private attorney.

Write a letter to the judge assigned to your case making your request to have your lawyer replaced and the credible and cogent reasons as to why this should occur. (If no judge has yet been assigned to your case, then address the letter to the chief judge.)

You can just tell the attorney you want a new one and want to fire her. Then the attorney has to go tell the Judge.

You can't just fire an appointed public defender. But you can raise you concerns to the judge in what is called a "Marsden hearing." You may either ask the judge yourself by writing a letter or the next time you are in court, or write or tell your attorney you want one; the attorney is required to bring this to the attention of the judge. The hearing is closed, and if the judge finds that the lawyer is not properly representing you a new lawyer will be appointed to represent you.

You must send a letter to your current attorney dismissing him. Then you can either represent yourself or retain a new attorney.

Write your lawyer again and ask that he or she schedule a hearing for a your motion on the withdrawal of the attorney. If the motion is granted, be prepared to hire an attorney or proceed pro se as most judges will not allow you to fire one public defender and request another.

You are not free to pick and choose an appointed lawyer but if you feel you are in conflict with your attorney then you should inform the court.

The judge is the only one who can assign a new lawyer. Many judges will say that if you have "assigned counsel" you don't get to pick and choose.but others will allow one substitution of counsel if your relationship with your lawyer has broken down. You need to let the judge know you are unhappy with your lawyer and want another. You can have your lawyer raise the issue or you may have to do so yourself at your next hearing.

Write a letter to the judge and then the court will ahve a hearing to see if the attorney should be changed.

You cannot choose who your public defender is. But if she is giving less than a legally adequate defense, tell the judge you want a Marsden hearing.

Either file a Motion in writing or bring it to the Court's attention next time your in court or ask the PD to set a hearing to request a new attorney.

The Court will typically not appoint another lawyer to represent you. If you want a different lawyer, you must hire your own. Courts' position is that you have a right to a.lawyer, but not a right to choose your Public Defender. You fire your lawyer by telling the Judge you no longer want to be represented by this lawyer.

You cannot fire someone you have not hired. You can ask the judge for an alternate attorney, but be ready to defend yourself by yourself if the judge refuses.

The court will not give you another lawyer. It does not happen like that. You can file a Marsden Hearing. Do not expect it to be granted.

After writing to public defender you can file a motion for new counsel with court listing reasons you desire new attorney. You include that you wrote to public defender and whatever response you received.

You can't. Your only options are to hire a private attorney or represent yourself. PD's are extremely difficult to fire. You have to do what is called a Marsden Hearing, and 99.9999% Judges will deny the motion. All I can say is, you get what you pay for (or not pay for).

You may want to address your concerns with the court and ask the court to appoint another attorney. Be aware, the court does not have to honor your request.

Either you or your family should contact your attorney and state that you want to file a motion to get another attorney. Or you can always write a letter to the judge I suppose as a last resort. Keep in mind that public defenders have very heavy workloads and may not be giving your case the attention you think it deserves, but usually they do the best they can and keep up. I'm not saying that is the case, but it often is. Judges are usually reluctant to replace public defenders as we don't want indigent clients to "lawyer shop" but firing their lawyers at every whim. But you may have legitimate reasons and the judge should hear you out.

Oh you get lawyers for free. How fantastic. We're just growing off trees and such. You get a free attorney because attorneys don't require going to college for at least four years (after doing 12 years of basic education everyone should be capable of doing), and then doing three years of law school where an absurd percent of students, all at near the top of their college class, fail/drop out to pursue less difficult careers. I do not mean to sound so belligerent, but I want to convey a certain point. That point is really that you're entitled to have the state appoint you an attorney if you cannot afford one. This is a very important right that is awarded based upon a broad constitutional interpretation. We should all recognize the tremendous benefit that is bestowed upon us in this regard: if we cannot afford a very expensive professional to spend hours on our cause, then the State will provide one for free to us. That is truly remarkable, and you ( as well as all of us) should be very appreciative of this right. If you are in a position where you feel your appointed attorney is not providing to you an appropriate legal defense then you need to answer two questions: 1. what do you actually know about what is an appropriate legal defense; 2. do you want to risk being without representation? Public defenders are often very smart, and very busy. They do not have time for holding your hand and making you feel special. If you want someone to hold your hand, tell you that everything will be okay, and comfort you fully then have enough money to hire somoene to do that. There are a great number of public defenders that do not have time to do such non-legal tasks. They wish they could, but they cannot do so without infringing upon their legal representation requirements. I do wish that you feel satisfied, but I think you should recognize these limitations.

Next time you are in front of a Judge you need to let them know you are unhappy with your attorney's services, and you also need to notify your attorney that you wish to hire a new attorney or to have a new attorney appointed. Best of luck with your case.

You cannot fire or dismiss your court appointed lawyer. You may ask the Judge to replace your court appointed lawyer. You can write the public defender a letter requesting that she ask the judge the next time you are in Court to allow her to withdraw from the case and to appoint a new lawyer. In the alternative you can write out a Motion for the Appointment of New Counsel yourself and present it to the judge the next time you are in court. The Judge will question you on your reasons for wanting a new court appointed lawyer. If the Judge finds that your reasons are frivolous or for the purpose of seeking delay then the Judge will deny your request. On the other hand if your reasons are valid then the Judge will appoint a new lawyer to represent you. You are entitled to effective and zealous legal advocacy. Good Luck.

The judge doesn't have to give you a new lawyer just because you don't like the one you have. You'll have to write the judge with your complaints and keep your fingers crossed.

You can tell the Judge that you want another attorney.

You have no idea if she is doing a good job or not. You are not entitled to a new attorney unless she has not visited you, not explained your case and options, and not made the proper motions. You can always retain an attorney to represent you, but if you cannot afford one then you will have to use a public defender. Even if they appoint you a different attorney you do not know if they will be better or worse. Some Legal Aid lawyers are good and have a lot of experience, especially on the felony level, but they do not take the time to visit you or return calls. They see you in court and explain your options. That does not mean "they are not doing anything for you", it just may be that you are guilty and will lose your trial and there is nothing anyone can do. Most people are guilty and most prosecutors win 90% of their trials, so there are only the options of plea bargaining or trying to win at trial if no acceptable plea if offered. Lawyers can't magically make your charges disappear or win a case where the evidence is against you. All they can do is convince you to cut your losses and take a plea. If you are in jail you either have a bad record or a serious felony. You should find a way to retain a good criminal attorney so that you have the best chance to bet the best resolution under the circumstances. Good Luck.

Bring oral Marsden motion at next appearance.

You are not guaranteed to get a new lawyer. You should write a letter to the trial supervisor, and be short, clear and concise as to what your issues are. If that does not work, write the Deputy Public Defender, Ryan Roden at 2020 Carey Ave., 3rd Flr, Cheyenne, WY 82002. I don't know how you are using the internet from Jail. If you fire your attorney, and the public defender's office does not, or will not replace your lawyer, you will represent yourself.

If you want to discharge your Public Defender and get a new Public Defender that is not possible. The Public Defenders are assigned to each case by their office. If you want to represent yourself you can file a motion with the court. If you want to hire an attorney then do so and he will sub. In and let the Public Defender know.

You should give the attorney an opportunity to explain what she is doing for you. You should probably request a personal meeting for this purpose. Chances are good that she has been working for you, but that she has not fully explained what is happening in your case. If there is something else that you think that she should be doing, explain it in detail and give her a chance to discuss it with you. If there is a good reason that you really can't work together, you may be able to request a new attorneybut you should be careful about trying to get a new lawyer too quickly, as the law says only that you have a right to counsel, not to an attorney of your choice.

You need to send a kite to the court requesting a hearing to address the situation. The court will schedule a hearing and address the issue at that time. You will be brought to court for that hearing. Bear in mind that the courts are reluctant to allow a defendant a second public defender. It may also appear to you that your lawyer is not helping but attorneys do a lot of work behind the scenes that our clients don't see.

Replacing a court appointed attorney can be difficult. YOU have to show that the attorney is doing or has done / is not doing or has not done something that a reasonable criminal defense attorney would or would not do. If she is just not doing what you want her to do, that may not be enough. SHE is the one who decides on tactics and strategy.