Court Appointed Attourney- If Found Guilty- If NOT found Guilty.?

Question

I am 17 yrs old, got a little ticked with my dads ex wife yesturday and i ended up hitting her AFTER she chest tagged me. They charged me with battery and let her go home. I am getting a court appointed lawyer and was wondering if i am NOT found guilty will i have to pay. If i AM found guilty about how much will i have to pay.

Answer 1

It is unethical for attorneys to charge based on a promised result. Depending on your state, you probably will not have to pay the attorney anything. I'm not sure if you were just asking about paying the attorney. There could be other costs. The court could require you to pay court costs and/or restitution and your dad's ex-wife could sue you for battery in a civil court and seek money damages. Since you are a minor, the chances of that are pretty slim but possible.

Answer 2

Whether you win or lose is irrelevant to whether or not you have to pay for your court appointed attorney. In the case of public defenders, there is usually a small fee for their services, though this fee is often waived (at least in my state). The judge will tell you how much the fee is.

Answer 3

You dont pay court appointed attorneys. And if it's not a public defender, it is illegal for criminal attorneys to make payment contingent upon winning the case.

Answer 4

Some states, like mine, have a flat fee that one pays (if able) to help compensate for inability to pay for a private attorney. It is only $25, I think. If you can't pay that, you just tell them and you don't pay. Criminal attorneys cannot work on contingency and/or set fees dependent upon outcome.

Answer 5

Even though they're court appointed attorney's, you may be held responsible for some cost. It may not be as much as it would be to retain an attorney, but still will cost you.