Do I Have a Choice In My Court Appointed Attorney? - Bexar County, TX

Every County is different but in 2017/2018 “on average, attorneys appointed by Texas courts are paid $200 for a misdemeanor case and $600 for a non-capital felony”

• The above statement of fact is scary therefore it is reasonable that an Accused should should have a minimal amount of CHOICE in their appointed attorney.

• Bexar County has a Public Defender’s Office that mostly defends Arrestee’s with Mental Health issues and likewise mostly operates in only a few Courts. Thus the Courts of Bexar County recently began using a “Managed Assigned Counsel” (MAC) System for appointing attorneys.

• A MAC office is theoretically a Non-Judicial county office that manages what attorneys are appointed cases and what resources (ie….investigator fees, expert witness fees, etc.) will be provided to that appointed attorney.

• But, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 26.04 allows a Judge to bypass the next attorney on that county’s appointment “list” for “good cause” thus it is reasonable to assume that this same authority would likewise rest with the Bexar County MAC office.

• Suggestion: Reach out to some of the court appointed attorneys (aka…shop) then simply advise the MAC office that you did your due diligence and are asking for a specific attorney of your choosing under “good cause”.

• Worst case scenario is that the MAC office simply says no and appoints the next available attorney they see fit or alternatively the MAC office could likewise grant the request and appoint the requested attorney.

• Here is the list of attorney’s accepting court appointments in Bexar County , TX - Coming Soon.