Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

how long does a defendant in a criminal case have to hire a new attorney before trial starts? My son has been incarcerated since nov, 2011 and is being represented by a court appointed lawer. hes not very confident about going to trial with this lawer but dosnt know if its too late to hire one? We are in Arizona.


Asked on 8/29/12, 5:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

A defendant can hire an attorney at anytime. But when a case is set to trial the judge expects new counsel to be prepared for the scheduled trial date. This means a review of the police reports and supporting documents along with reviewing the interview notes of witnesses and any recordings of such interviews made by current counsel. Any pretrial motions and the judge's decision should also be reviewed in preparation for trial. If the case is not set for trial then there may be time to accomplish these tasks if not all have been completed. Judges do not like to delay trials of incarcerated defendants because of Sixth Amendment right to speedy trial concerns.

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Answered on 8/29/12, 5:49 pm


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