Just got arrested in New York City and not sure how you are going to face a judge?
The city’s network of public defenders are typically the first line of defense for people without the means to pay a private lawyer. And you have the right to an attorney in criminal cases.

In 1963, the U. S. Supreme Court in its landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright ruled: “The right of one charged with a crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to a fair trial in some countries, but it is in ours.” 

That decision meant that people charged with a felony who can’t pay for their own lawyer must get one appointed to them. In New York, the state’s highest court ruled two years later that the right also applies to non-felony cases. 

The right to counsel has expanded to other classes over the years. Among those currently covered are children facing juvenile delinquency charges, probationers in revocation hearings, and, in New York, parents with child welfare cases.  

Currently, defender organizations handle between 80% and 90% of all criminal cases in New York City, according to Tina Luongo, the chief attorney of the criminal defense practice at The Legal Aid Society. 

The Legal Aid Society is the largest defender group in the city, with more than 650 staff lawyers who cover all  five boroughs. The group represents three out of five of all the public defender cases, according to Luongo. 

A network of smaller public defender organizations also works in each of the boroughs and handles many cases. Some cases are also handled by so-called 18-B lawyers who are primarily brought in to assist when a conflict exists. 

Here’s what you need to know about how public defenders operate and what people can expect throughout the process: 

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How does someone get a public defender? When does that happen? 

In New York City, the majority of people meet a public defender within 24 hours after their arrest.

That standard was set in 1991 as part of a landmark legal victory in the Roundtree v. Brown case litigated by Legal Aid in the New York Court of Appeals. 

The first meeting with a public defender typically takes place inside a stuffy holding cell inside a central booking courthouse; there is one in each borough. That’s where the public defender will go over paperwork created by the district attorney detailing the official charges, which are later out by a judge in a defendant’s first court appearance known as an arraignment. 

“We go in the back and call their name and interview them” before the arraignment, said Luongo.

The public defender will then announce to the arraignment judge that they are representing you. That lawyer will then typically represent you the entire time as the case proceeds. 

“In New York City we are what’s called vertical representation,” said Luongo. “So if I meet that client in arraignments, I stay with that client the entire time.” 

That’s not the case for low-income clients in Nassau County and some other areas outside of New York City. In those cases, the public defender changes after arraignment. 

Who is eligible for a public defender? How is that determined?  

It’s a pretty informal process. 

For years, the decision was left up to individual courts to make the determination if there was a legitimate need. Judges would base the decision on what the lawyer recommended. 

But the lack of standards “resulted in inconsistent decisions and often inadequate protection of the right to assigned counsel in New York,” according to a 2021 report by the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. 

So in 2016, that agency adopted eligibility standards for criminal cases. Now, the public defender initially assigned to the case will do a verbal assessment of income eligibility based on federal guidelines. Generally, people whose households earn less than 250% of the federal poverty guidelines are presumed eligible, but there are exceptions. Currently, 250% of the federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $78,000. For a single person it would be $37,650.

How many cases does each public defender handle? 

Public defenders are constantly juggling large caseloads, but the exact number fluctuates each day. 

Defenders who deal with complicated felony cases will typically have a lighter caseload, said Robyn Mar, deputy executive director at The Bronx Defenders. 

It also depends on how the NYPD is policing communities, Mar added. 

“A change in tactics and policies can really directly influence the arrest rate,” she said, noting the number of people being taken into custody has gone up since Mayor Eric Adams became mayor in January 2022. 

Recent changes in the discovery process — requiring prosecutors to now share more evidence quickly, including police body camera footage — has also made it more difficult for lawyers to juggle multiple cases, according to Mar. 

“With all of that additional evidence, and body cam, a caseload for public defender in 2024 is very different from a case of pre-discovery reform,” Mar noted. 

A person walks into Brooklyn Criminal Court, March 27, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

The new rules also make it easier for clients to defend themselves and argue for the charges to be dropped or reduced, Mar added, calling it “a very good thing in service of just outcomes.”

But the attorneys are all overworked and all the major city public defender organizations have vacancies, according to people who work in the field.

“Public defenders are drowning right now,” said public defender Adam Konta who works in multiple boroughs. “They are overwhelmed with caseloads.”

Can someone change their public defender? How does one do that?

Yes you can switch. 

A person can ask for a new attorney within a public defender’s office. A court does not get involved in that decision. Internally, the public defender’s office would consider a client’s reasons for switching. Sometimes, a new attorney who specializes in a particular area, like mental health or young adult cases, may be more appropriate. 

If the person wants a new attorney who is not within the public defender’s office, the court will make that decision. The court will always want to know the reason. And, if the court believes the reason is valid, a new attorney will be assigned.

“We will look to see what the reasons are. In terms of why they don’t want a particular attorney,” said Yung Mi-Lee, the legal director of criminal defense practice at Brooklyn Defenders. 

“It very rarely happens,” she said.

What public defender organizations are there in New York City? 

The Legal Aid Society is the only organization that operates in all of the five boroughs. But it splits the duties in each borough (aside from Staten Island) with other groups.

They are: Bronx Defenders; Neighborhood Defender Services; New York County Defender Services; Brooklyn Defenders, and Queens Defenders. 

Each of the organizations has a budget for its own forensic 1“ and case investigators, as well as support staff like social workers. 

Private attorneys working as public lawyers: What is an 18-B public defender? 

In some situations, so-called 18-B lawyers may become involved. They are private attorneys who are paid by the state to take on public defense cases.

The title refers to New York County Law Article 18-B, which lays out the right to a public defender. A common reason they get involved is when there is a conflict of interest, so a public defender legal organization can’t represent everyone in a case.

For example: If someone is arrested with a group of other people it doesn’t make sense for them to all be represented by the same public defender organization. So each person will have a different lawyer tied to each own public defender organization. 

There are strict rules for who can handle 18-B work. 

Those lawyers must have experience based on the sorts of cases they are seeking to handle. They also must be approved by a state 18-B panel. That screening process entails at least five references from lawyers they’ve opposed and five judges. 

For many lawyers it is their primary source of income while others use a mix of cases. 

The state last year raised the rates those attorneys can charge from $75 an hour to $158 an hour. The lawyers submit their bills to the 18-B panel and the checks are cut by the city comptroller’s office. 

When cases go to trial they need to get approval from the judge overseeing the case to hire experts who specialize in forensics or psychology. 

“I’ve never had a judge reject one of my requests,” said Konta, a veteran 18-B attorney who also has a private practice. 

By contrast, Legal Aid and the other public defender organizations use their own budgets to pay for experts. Those groups also have in-house social workers and PR people. 

Who pays for public defenders? 

They get most of the money from a mix of city and state funds. 

But they are often desperately seeking additional funding so they can better retain lawyers and support staff. Currently, public defenders are paid far less than public prosecutors and most attorneys in the private sector. 

The groups are also seeking added money to deal with new “technology needs partly due to the discovery laws passed in 2019,” the public defenders said in joint testimony submitted to the City Council last month. 

“Some of our offices continue to see attrition rates over 15 percent,” they added in the testimony. “We are also often unable to hire sufficient staff at the starting level to guarantee replacing staff, often due to low starting salaries combined with the high cost of living in New York City.”

Many of the lawyers who left have between five and 10 years of experience, they testified. That has made it difficult for other lawyers to pick up their caseloads while at the same time grabbing new cases, according to the defender groups. 

Do public defenders handle appeals? 

The short answer is: Yes. 

But the appeal is frequently handled by a public defender working for an appellate defender organization or at The Legal Aid Society. This allows the person appealing to have an attorney free from any conflict of interest.

The cases are individually reviewed and a plan of attack is usually worked out with the appellate defender in consultation with their client.

Are people legally entitled to public free lawyers in non-criminal cases? How does that work?

The short answer is: No. 

People are broadly not entitled to public attorney representation in non-criminal cases, which can include civil lawsuits over money, wills and estates matters, commercial court, bankruptcy court and some immigration cases.

If you need an attorney, here are three hotlines from local legal groups where you may get free guidance on your case:

If you are looking for a private attorney, but don’t know where to look, the New York City Bar Legal Referral Service can help direct you and charges $35 for a half-hour consultation. The service is available at 212-626-7373 for English and 212-626-7374 for Spanish.

How does attorney representation work in Family Court?

People facing a child abuse or neglect case in Family Court, called “respondents,” are also legally entitled to legal coverage, as they are in criminal court. Even before any action is filed in court, a parent can reach out to a defender group when they are initially contacted by a child protective service agency.

A great place to start is the Brooklyn Defender Services “Your Family Your Rights” website. 

Family members who are served a petition or facing allegations of abuse can connect with lawyers in Family Court. 

“We will be there,” said Nila Natarajan, associate director of policy and family defense

at Brooklyn Defender Services. “We will start talking to someone right away, learning about them, asking them questions, explaining what’s happening, and doing our best to triage, often in emergency and crisis situations.”

For more information about your rights when children’s services begins an investigation, read THE CITY’s guide on what to do when ACS comes to your door.

How do I get an attorney in Housing Court?

It’s different in every borough, and it depends on your income level. THE CITY wrote a separate guide on the Housing Court attorney process, which you can read here.

Got a question about how public attorneys work? Have something to add that other New Yorkers should know? Email ask@thecity.nyc or tell us through Ask Nellie, our portal for anything you’d like to ask THE CITY newsroom.