Originally Posted by Can't Know

I'm not sure if anyone else here has actually practiced law, or are just throwing out the typical opinions, popular or otherwise.

I can tell you that every public defender I know is 1) very dedicated and 2) hopelessly overworked. (They are not at all like the buffoon caricature in My Cousin Vinny.) At a very minimum, they will seek to ensure that the defendant's rights are not trampled on and that the state does it's job without railroading the defendant. That said, most cases plead out at one level or another.

Heroin is not like pot. Most jurisdictions still treat it seriously, like a dangerous, debilitating, illegal narcotic, which it is. Dependency typically leads to other criminal activities as well. Which means that unless she has an otherwise spotless record, the PA is likely to be pressing for a harsher sentence.

There is nothing at all wrong with letting a PD go to bat for her initially. However, she is going to have to be extremely motivated (and appear sincere in that desire) to get clean and stay clean, find honest, legal work, etc...in other words, to be rehabilitated and not just rehabbed off the smack. If that's the case and the PD meets with her and then the PA and the PA is playing hardball, then you can pool together funds for a private attorney. (Just because you start with a PD doesn't mean you can't hire someone later.) On the other hand, if she seems sincere and the PA isn't a ****, then the PD can put together a workable plea deal and it's not going to be vastly different than what a private attorney would manage. In that case the money saved from the private attorney can be put towards a rehab program.

That's my .02. I wish you all well as you wander these paths.