What Can I Do if I Don’t Like My Defense Lawyer?

Changing your Criminal Defense attorney may or may not happen

Firing a lawyer from a case seems like a common occurrence, but it’s not as easy as the news makes it sound. In many cases, you can change your defense lawyer if you feel your current one is not working toward your best interest, but it’s not always possible. If you’ve already gotten a defense lawyer and now want to change who is representing you, the effect of the change on the case’s schedule may determine whether the change is possible.

First, if you have a public defender who was appointed to your case, you need the judge’s approval to change. You can’t dump the defender and demand another one. You’ll need to present substantial proof that the current public defender has not been carrying out their duty to defend you against the charges. Even then, it’s still up to the judge.

As for a lawyer you hired yourself, you’re not quite free to do as you please, although you wouldn’t have to get a judge’s OK to dismiss your lawyer. For example, let’s say you wanted to get a new lawyer because the first one you hired was not working out. You would need time to get the new lawyer up to speed on your case, but that could delay proceedings, which you would need to request from the judge. If the prosecutor on the case objected to the delay — maybe one of their key witnesses would no longer be able to testify if the case were delayed — then the judge could deny your request to delay the trial.

However, if you wanted to switch lawyers and have enough time before the start of the trial to get the new lawyer up to date, then you have a good chance of being able to replace your lawyer.

If your current defense lawyer isn’t working out, contact Eisenberg Law Offices at 608-256-8356. You deserve good representation and should start looking now for a new lawyer to avoid potential problems with your case.