Can I Get a Public Defender for Federal Charges

Can I Get a Public Defender for Federal Charges

You got arrested by federal agents. Your first court appearance is scheduled within 72 hours. Private attorneys are quoting $50,000 to $150,000 for your case – money you don’t have, even if you liquidated every asset. You’re wondering if you can get a public defender assigned by the court. And you’re worried: Does asking make you look guilty? Will the judge laugh you out of the room because you own a house or hold down a job?

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We’ve defended clients facing federal charges for over 40 years, and we’ve seen thousands of people in your exact situation. Federal cases are expensive to defend properly. Even solidly middle-class defendants qualify for court-appointed counsel when the cost of adequate representation exceeds their financial resources. Here’s what actually happens when you request a federal public defender – and whether you’ll get one.

What Happens at Your First Court Appearance

Within 14 days of arrest, you appear before a magistrate judge for initial presentment. This is where the rubber meets the road. The judge asks: “Do you have an attorney?” If you say no, the next question is immediate: “Can you afford to hire one?”

Don’t freeze. Answer honestly. The judge isn’t trying to embarrass you – this is standard procedure in every federal criminal case. If you indicate you can’t afford counsel, the judge hands you CJA Form 23, the Financial Affidavit for federal defender eligibility. You fill it out right there, listing income, assets, debts, monthly living expenses, and number of dependents.

The magistrate reviews your affidavit on the spot and makes a preliminary determination. If your financial resources are “insufficient to enable you to obtain qualified counsel” – the actual legal standard under the Criminal Justice Act – the judge appoints an attorney immediately. You walk out of that courtroom with representation. Sixty percent of appointed cases go to federal public defenders employed by the court system. The remaining forty percent go to CJA panel attorneys: private lawyers who accept court appointments and get paid by the government, not by you.

If you lie on the affidavit and the government discovers it, you’ve committed a separate federal offense. And if the judge denies your request? You can’t ask again later just because private attorneys cost more than expected. The time to request appointed counsel is at initial appearance.

Do You Make Too Much Money to Qualify?

This is the question that keeps people up at night before their first appearance. “I own a house. I make $70,000 a year. Will the judge tell me I’m too wealthy for a public defender?”

The answer requires understanding what federal courts actually look at – and what they don’t. There is no bright-line income cutoff. No magic number like “$50,000/year disqualifies you” or “if you own real property, you’re out.” Federal judges have discretion to consider your total financial picture: gross income minus necessary living expenses, assets minus debts, dependents relying on your income, and the specific cost of defending your particular case.

Run the numbers. You own a $300,000 home with a $250,000 mortgage, make $60,000 annually. After mortgage, taxes, and family expenses, you clear $1,500/month. Your wire fraud case needs forensic accountants and investigators – $85,000 from a private attorney. Can you pay that without losing your home? If not, you likely qualify.

Another scenario: You earn $80,000/year with $15,000 savings. Federal drug trafficking charges with mandatory minimums require experienced federal trial counsel – $75,000 minimum. Even with savings, you can’t afford it without bankruptcy. Judges understand this.

The constitutional principle – and this is where the Sixth Amendment actually matters – is that you’re entitled to adequate representation, not any representation. A lawyer who charges $10,000 but has never tried a federal case will lose. The question isn’t “Can you afford *an* attorney?” It’s “Can you afford the level of representation required to mount a constitutionally adequate defense to these specific charges?” For complex federal prosecutions, that’s a high bar. Middle-class defendants qualify more often than people realize.

Are Public Defenders Actually Good?

You’re thinking: “If I get a public defender, am I settling for second-rate representation? Shouldn’t I scrape together money for a private attorney?” Here are the numbers. Between 2008 and 2023, federal public defenders’ success rate nearly doubled, soaring from 18% to 35%. Private attorneys’ success rate barely budged – from 12% to 13%. That’s not a typo. Public defenders are winning more cases than private attorneys, and the gap is widening. Why? Federal public defenders live in federal court. They handle federal criminal cases every single day – wire fraud, drug trafficking, firearms offenses, child exploitation, immigration violations. They know the prosecutors personally. They understand which judges hate certain arguments and which ones respond to constitutional challenges. They’ve tried cases in that specific courthouse dozens of times. Many private attorneys advertise “federal criminal defense” but rarely step into federal court. When they do, they’re learning on your dime. Public defenders carry heavy caseloads – sometimes over 100 active cases. You don’t choose your attorney; you’re assigned randomly. If you want daily phone calls, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want someone who knows federal sentencing guidelines cold and has actual trial experience? Public defenders deliver. In forty percent of appointed cases, you don’t get a “public defender” – you get a CJA panel attorney, a private lawyer paid by taxpayers. Same quality you’d hire directly, but the government pays instead of you. The constitutional reality matters here: the Sixth Amendment doesn’t promise you the attorney of your choice when you can’t afford one – it promises you competent counsel who can mount an adequate defense. Federal public defenders meet that standard consistently. They handle the same types of cases repeatedly, developing pattern recognition that even expensive private attorneys lack. A public defender who’s seen fifty supervised release violation cases knows exactly which arguments work with which judges. A private attorney charging $300/hour might be encountering that charge type for the first time in years. Now for the part that matters right now, in October 2025: CJA panel attorney funding ran out on July 3, 2025. For three months – July, August, September – thousands of court-appointed attorneys worked without getting paid. Congress froze judicial branch funding at 2024 levels, creating a $116 million shortfall. Panel attorneys owed anywhere from $10,000 to $150,000 each went unpaid for three months. If you were assigned a CJA panel attorney between July and September 2025, your lawyer was under extreme financial stress. They couldn’t hire investigators. Expert witnesses refused cases where payment was uncertain. Some attorneys stopped accepting appointments entirely. Funding resumed October 1, 2025, but another shortfall is predicted for 2026. This creates a two-tier system: wealthy defendants hire attorneys who can wait months for payment; poor defendants get attorneys choosing between mortgages and clients. That’s what the Sixth Amendment was designed to prevent.

The Funding Crisis

If your lawyer was appointed between July and September 2025, they couldn’t hire investigators or expert witnesses.

Public defenders make sense if you genuinely can’t afford $50,000+ for private representation. You need private counsel when the stakes are existential – mandatory minimums, decades in federal prison, career-ending consequences. At Spodek Law Group, we handle cases where public defenders face conflicts or where defendants need specialized federal defense experience. Todd Spodek defended Anna Delvey in a federal case that captivated national attention. Call 212-300-5196.