Clients and Families

Public Defense Services' departments represent people in criminal court facing a criminal complaint, mental health court facing court ordered treatment, and probate court in need of conservatorship; parents and children in juvenile court involved in a dependency or severance matter; and youth in juvenile court accused of a delinquency matter.

  1. Working with Your Attorney
  2. Assisting as a Family
  3. File Retention

How to assist your attorney

Your attorney needs your help to obtain the best possible result in your case. Provide your attorney with all requested information quickly.

DO NOT discuss your case with anyone except your attorney and your attorney’s staff. 

DO NOT talk about your case with cellmates, family members, friends, police officers, probation officers, detention officers or anyone else. The state could call these people to testify against you for statements you made to them about your case.

Mail and telephone calls

Your mail and telephone calls in jail may be monitored. DO NOT write letters or speak on the telephone about your case with anyone except your legal team.

When and where you will be required to be in Court

Appear on time for all scheduled court dates and legal appointments.

Failure to Appear

Failure to appear in court will result in a warrant for your arrest. If you fail to appear, call your attorney immediately.

How to dress for court

Your appearance is important. You should come dressed as you would for a job interview (business casual), a dinner at a nice restaurant, or a special event. You should not wear tank tops, shorts, or t-shirts with rude or offensive language or drug paraphernalia.

Providing information to your attorney

Give your attorney current addresses and telephone numbers. It is very important that your attorney be able to reach you at all times. If you move, or change phone numbers, immediately call your attorney and provide them with your new contact information.