Indigent clients distrust appointed defense counsel for being part of the prosecutorial system

Evidence

Implicit in our discussion of continuances is the fact that many indigent clients doubt that their attorneys are working hard on their cases. Because the attorney was court-appointed or provided by a public defense or legal aid organization, there is distrust that the attorney is actually working on behalf of the client. In addition, from the client’s perspective, the attorney seems to emerge from the same system that produces prosecutors and judges. While these optics are hard to overcome, there is a basic strategy for improving the relationship. The attorney must listen to the client. This means listening to the client’s concerns, communicating openly with him or her, and making sure to follow through on any promises made regarding the representation. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 693

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 693
• XREF: connects to: Ethical ideals differ between client-loyalty and justice-serving lawyers — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 933