public defender

public defender
public defender n: a lawyer usu. holding public office who represents criminal defendants unable to pay for legal assistance

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

public defender
n.
An attorney employed by the government to represent criminal defendants who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


public defender
a lawyer provided by the state to represent a person accused of a crime. Clearly, where there is respect for the human right of a fair trial, there has to be a separation of powers between the public defender and the prosecution – something that is difficult where there may be a similar 'civil service' type of career structure and movement of individuals between divisions. They are well known in the USA and the system is the subject of an experiment in Scotland. It is now provided for in English legislation and the precise system is a matter of consultation. See Criminal Defence Service.

Collins dictionary of law. . 2001.


public defender
A lawyer appointed by the court and paid by the county, state, or federal government to represent clients who are charged with violations of criminal law and are unable to pay for their own defense.
Category: Criminal Law
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


public defender
n. An attorney hired by the government for the purpose of defending anyone who is accused of a crime but who is unable to afford to hire an attorney. The right to such a defense is guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.


public defender
An attorney appointed by a court or employed by the government to represent indigent defendants in criminal actions.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


public defender
I
An attorney appointed by a court or employed by the government to represent indigent defendants in criminal actions.
 II Government lawyer who provides free legal defense services to a poor person accused of a crime.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

public defender
n.
   an elected or appointed public official (usually of a county), who is an attorney regularly assigned by the courts to defend people accused of crimes who cannot afford a private attorney. In larger counties the public defender has a large case load, numerous deputy public defenders and office staff. In each federal judicial district there is also a federal public defender, and some states have a state public defender to supervise the provision of attorneys to convicted indigents for appeals.

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • public defender — public defenders N COUNT A public defender is a lawyer who is employed by a city or county to represent people who are accused of crimes but cannot afford to pay for a lawyer themselves. [AM] …   English dictionary

  • public defender — ☆ public defender n. an attorney employed at public expense to defend indigent persons accused of crimes …   English World dictionary

  • Public defender — For the 1931 film featuring Boris Karloff, see The Public Defender. Public Defenders offices in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with …   Wikipedia

  • public defender — An attorney appointed by a court or employed by a government agency whose work consists primarily in defending indigent defendants in criminal cases. Federal Public Defender Organizations and Community Defender Organizations are provided for… …   Black's law dictionary

  • public defender — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms public defender : singular public defender plural public defenders legal in the US, a lawyer who is paid by the government to defend people in court if they cannot pay for themselves …   English dictionary

  • public defender — noun a lawyer who represents indigent defendants at public expense • Topics: ↑law, ↑jurisprudence • Hypernyms: ↑lawyer, ↑attorney * * * noun, pl ⋯ ers [count] US : a lawyer who is paid by the government to defend people who are accused of a crime …   Useful english dictionary

  • public defender — public de fender n AmE a lawyer who is paid by the government to defend people in court, because they cannot pay for a lawyer themselves →↑district attorney …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • public defender — public de fender noun count in the U.S., a lawyer who is paid by the government to defend people in court if they cannot pay for themselves …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • public defender — a lawyer appointed or elected by a city or county as a full time, official defender to represent indigents in criminal cases at public expense. Cf. assigned counsel. [1915 20] * * * ▪ law       attorney permanently employed by a government to… …   Universalium

  • public defender — noun Date: 1918 a lawyer usually holding public office whose duty is to defend accused persons unable to pay for legal assistance …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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