Monroe County Public Defender Office
Eligibility for Public Defense Services
To obtain representation by the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office, you must be interviewed by a paralegal from this office. The paralegal will be asking you questions about your income and assets (property you own). You may have to provide proof of your income and assets. If you are under 21 years of age, you must provide information about your parent(s)’ income or assets. The paralegals do not determine eligibility. The information they collect will be provided to the Court, which will decide whether you qualify for representation by an attorney from this office.
If you are told at some point you do not qualify, you should attempt to retain (hire) a private attorney to represent you at your next court appearance. As you make an effort to do this, you should keep track of the names of the attorneys you call, the dates you call them, and what they tell you about whether they can represent you. Bring this information to court with you on your next court date.
On your next court date, you will be advised whether you will be assigned an attorney from this office. If you are assigned a public defender to represent you, you will be provided with his or her name and telephone number. You may then contact him or her by phone, and either set up an appointment or discuss your case by phone at that time.
Paralegals are not qualified or permitted to give legal advice. Therefore, there is no need to discuss your case with the paralegal with whom you will be meeting. In fact, you should not discuss your case with anyone but the lawyer who will be representing you.
IF YOU ARE A MILITARY SERVICE VETERAN, PLEASE TELL THE PARALEGAL.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE DURING THE INTERVIEW
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