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1. What is a Public Defender?

A public defender is a licensed attorney that represents indigent defendants.

2. Do I qualify for a Public Defender?

The Clerk of Court uses guidelines set forth by the S.C. Court Administration to determine eligibility. Additionally, there is a $40.00 non-refundable application fee.

3. How do I apply for a Public Defender?

Typically, defendants are screened for a Public Defender after arrest. However, applications can be made at the York County Clerk of Court office or at the Municipal / Magistrate Court of jurisdiction.

4. What are the Court Dates I was given?

Every client receives two court dates upon release from jail. The first is an Initial Appearance date. It is usually about 6 weeks from your arrest date. This is the first time you will meet your public defender. By this time your public defender will usually have discovery on your case and be able to meaningfully discuss the case with you. You will also decide at this meeting whether to have a preliminary hearing. This is not a court date and you will not see a judge on this date. However it is very important to show up so that you can meet your public defender, they can learn about you and about your case, and they can talk to you about preliminary hearing. Although you generally would not be bench warranted for missing this first meeting (some exceptions do exist), you can waive important rights if you don’t appear.
The second date is about 6 weeks after the initial appearance date. This is a bond returnable date. This meeting takes place during a court week, but you will not necessarily see a judge. If you miss this court date you can and likely will be bench warranted. So it is very important to be present, to provide a documented excuse if you absolutely cannot appear for any reason (extended hospital stay, severe illness, incarceration, etc.), and to reschedule your appearance as soon as possible if you miss this court date. This date exists to ensure that clients who are out on bond are still showing up to court as required. It is also an opportunity for your attorney to provide you with any updates or offers they might have for you at this time. If your case is ready to go in front of a judge you could do so that day, but generally you will not see a judge at the bond returnable day.

5. What is discovery?

At the beginning of each case, your public defender will automatically request discovery on your behalf. Discovery generally consists of any information that the solicitor is required to turn over and could include incident reports, general sessions summaries, drug reports, videos, audio recordings, photos, or other things. We have a goal of receiving discovery by the initial appearance date so that we may discuss the discovery with you. If it is not in hand at that time, we may discuss discovery at a later meeting. Some discovery may be received after initial discovery (i.e. drug reports take a while to be completed and are not usually finished within 6 weeks, so we don’t normally receive those by initial appearance). Discovery is an ongoing process.

6. What is a preliminary hearing?

Preliminary hearing is a hearing to determine probable cause. At the preliminary hearing an officer will read out the incident or summary report in your case. Your attorney will have the opportunity to ask questions of the officer. However, the officer will likely not be an officer involved in your case, he simply reads the report and generally cannot answer any questions that are not answered in the report. You won’t testify. This is generally not an opportunity to present defenses or new evidence not contained within the report. After the report is read and any questions are answered, a magistrate judge will make a determination of whether or not there was probable cause to arrest you. If he finds probable cause, your case will continue. If he finds no probable cause the case will be dismissed, but may still be brought back by the solicitor if he or she decides to direct indict.
Many cases do not require a preliminary hearing because the standards are different from trial. Your public defender will help you make this determination. A request for preliminary hearing must be made on your initial appearance date or it is waived.