Are all “appointed attorneys” employees of the law offices of the public defender?
No. In some cases the Court will appoint attorneys who are not members of our office. This is generally only done after the Public Defender determines that this office should not participate in your particular case. Usually this is done on the basis of what is known as a “conflict of interest”. There are many ways that this can come up, but usually it arises when more than one person who needs the assistance of an attorney is involved in the same situation. An attorney isn’t allowed to represent two people who may have conflicting interests in a situation. For this reason the court appoints separate lawyers from different offices. In the County of Riverside, the Courts and the County have contracted with a number of lawyers that are appointed when the Public Defender cannot assist you. Those attorneys are the ones the courts generally appoint if the Law Offices of the Public Defender cannot participate in your particular case.
