Public defender (United States)

In the United States, a public defender is an attorney-at-law appointed by the courts and provided by the state or federal governments to represent and advise those who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Public defenders are full time attorneys employed by the state or federal governments. The public defender program is one of several types of criminal legal aid in the United States.

Prior to the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, legal aid was only accessible by those who had the ability to pay. During that time, people who were not able to pay for an attorney usually did not have access to one. The Sixth Amendment changed this concept that only those who had money had the right to an attorney. The Sixth Amendment reads:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

One of the listed rights granted and guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment is the right to counsel; the right for defendants, who are on trial for criminal charges, to have legal aid in federal courts. The Sixth Amendment's right to counsel is for criminal cases only; it is not for non-felony cases. Although the Sixth Amendment introduced the right to counsel in the United States, the Supreme Court would further interpret and expand on this right.

In 1931 in Scottsboro, Alabama nine black youths, the "Scottsboro Boys", were placed on trial after two young white women claimed they were raped by the young black men. The day of their trial, the "Scottsboro Boys" were not appointed counsel by the judge and were instead represented by two unqualified people: a real estate agent from Tennessee and an old attorney who had not practiced law in many years. Both legal representatives of the "Scottsboro Boys" had very little information and knowledge about the situation but did not attempt to push back the trial. Every "Scottsboro Boy", except for one, was sentenced to death despite the fact the doctors who checked the two young women did not find any proof of rape.

...
Wikipedia