But still, a poor defendant hardly gets the same kind of representation that one would expect from a paid lawyer.

There are three ways to provide lawyers for poor defendants.

He said the defense provided to poor defendants here was adequate "in the overwhelming majority of cases."

Instead, poor defendants get a private attorney who is paid poorly by the state.

The loser is not only the poor defendant but society.

The society, a private organization, provides essentially all legal services to the city's poor criminal defendants.

You suggest that those representing poor defendants are paid each month.

It had nothing to do with providing free lawyers for poor defendants.

Legal Aid now represents poor defendants in about 270,000 of the city's criminal cases each year.

Another issue involves what type of counsel the state should offer poor defendants.