My son who lives in indianapolis Indiana has been charged with probabtion violation, his original charge was possession of marijuana, don't really know any details I am in North Carolina, at the time he had been fired from his job but the judge would not give him a public defender because he felt he should have some money, he does not have any, he violation consists of missing a community serve date and has not been able to pay the money he was ordered to, he recently turned himself in and is going to be jailed later today with a court date scheduled for the 28th of this month facing a year in prison, I guess my question is should we get an attorney, what can they do at this point and the fact is none of us can really afford one at this time?

In my opinion, he should never appear in court without an attorney. You might not be able to afford one, but its still cheaper than being in jail.

Hello b:

Your son should appear in court and tell the judge that he cannot continue with the proceedings UNLESS he is provided with a lawyer. There IS legal precedent for your sons demand. He needs to stand up for his rights.

If it's the SAME judge, he'll probably deny it again, but at least your son got it ON THE RECORD that he requested an attorney. That is grounds for an appeal if they continue to railroad him, and they probably will.

excon