Marsden Motions -- How to Fire Your Public Defender

Описание: California criminal defense attorney Neil Shouse explains the process for removing a public defender and asking the judge to assign a new one.

A "Marsden Motion" is the process for replacing your court-appointed public defender with a different public defender. This is not the same process as just firing your public defender, and paying to hire a private attorney, which is something the court will almost always allow a defendant to do.

But if you still would like to have a public defender, just a new and different public defender from the one that's already representing you, then that's when you file a Marsden motion. After filing the motion, there will be what's called a Marsden hearing, between the defendant, the judge, and the current public defender. It is during this hearing, that the judge will make a ruling on whether they will grant the Marsden motion, and allow a new public defender to be assigned to the case, or whether they will deny the motion, and require the defendant to keep their current public defender.

However, judges rarely grant Marsden motions, and there need to be extreme circumstances to convince a judge to grant the Marsden motion. Simply having a rude or disrespectful public defender, or a public offender that doesn't return your calls, or has differing legal opinions, is normally not enough for a judge to grant the motion.

In order to get a judge to grant the Marsden motion, you will need to show a more severe cause, such as a conflict of interest, legal misconduct, or ineffective assistance of counsel. One other cause for granting a Marsden motion, is if the public defender forces their client to take a plea deal. PD's can advise a client to take a deal, but it's the client's right, and the client's right alone, to choose whether they accept the deal in the end.

The best option, if a client is unhappy with their public defender, is to pay money to hire private counsel. Since most Marsden motions are denied by the judge, filing a Marsden motion will likely only make the defendant's relationship with their PD even more strained, and it may make it less likely to get the outcome they are hoping for.

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If you or a loved one is charged with a crime we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a free consultation in office or by phone. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.