Are all court-appointed attorneys Public Defenders?
No. A court-appointed attorney is any attorney who is appointed by the judge to represent an individual who cannot afford to hire his or her own attorney. A court-appointed attorney may be an attorney in private practice or an Assistant Public Defender. Private practice attorneys represent clients who have personally hired them as well as clients to whom they are appointed. I f appointed, they are paid a fee by the court for each case they handle. Assistant Public Defenders are employed by the county, and only represent individuals they are appointed by a judge to represent. Assistant Public Defenders are paid an annual salary, not per case.
