Chris is on the move

  • 🏰 The Fediverse is up. If you know, you know.
  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm having trouble getting the link to this PDF, but it's the first one on the google results.
https://www.google.com/search?num=4...dr...0...1c.1.60.serp..61.25.4107.rfOmqIDFYb4

Basically, it says that in Virginia, the court provides counsel if your income is under 125% of the federal poverty level. Chris might not be at that level. They take into consideration allowed deductions, such as rent, mortgage, and certain monthly expenses. They take into account possessions that can be converted to cash. He's not going to have deductions if Barb pays for everything with her money and it's in her name, he can't just make it up. They should ask where the money's going. And when they see "lego," they'll laugh at him. The capacity to post bond could possibly be considered, if you've got several hundred to put up, one could argue you're not indigent.

If you're above 125% of the federal poverty level, you may still receive a public defender, in "exceptional circumstances." The defendant will be subject to a thorough financial examination. If they look at his bank statements and see the eBay transactions, that would raise some questions about his indigent status.
 
If Virginia is like Massachusetts, people on public assistance are assumed to be eligible for the public defenders' services.

The Federal poverty level for 2015 is $11,670; 125% is $14,588. I don't know exactly what Chris's current tugboat is, but I bet it's right around 125%. Barb's income, or the fact that she owns a house, isn't figured in, remember, because Chris is a legal adult.

As to the "what if Chris's public defender quits?" question: I know someone who was a public defender and she says you almost never quit a difficult client, because you aren't likely to get a much better client and you'll just alienate the coworker who has to take over the hostile or nutty person.
 
MrsFrizzle said:
If Virginia is like Massachusetts, people on public assistance are assumed to be eligible for the public defenders' services.

The Federal poverty level for 2015 is $11,670; 125% is $14,588. I don't know exactly what Chris's current tugboat is, but I bet it's right around 125%. Barb's income, or the fact that she owns a house, isn't figured in, remember, because Chris is a legal adult.

As to the "what if Chris's public defender quits?" question: I know someone who was a public defender and she says you almost never quit a difficult client, because you aren't likely to get a much better client and you'll just alienate the coworker who has to take over the hostile or nutty person.
Click to expand...

The article I linked explicitly says Social Security is counted as income. I think it's been discussed before whether Chris gets food stamps. If he got food stamps, it says Virginia would presume he's indigent and give him the public defender. While they're not going to count Barb's income, they're not going to credit Chris with paying rent or a mortgage if they haven't cooked the books to make it look like Chris pays Barb to live there. If they had any sense, they could've fabricated a paper trail and made it look like Chris paid rent/utilities/ate separate from Barb and got him some food stamps. Plus, if he's without the automatic qualifier of being a public assistance recipient, they might look at his bank statements and count more than just the SS, but also the cash bouncing in an out via paypal.
 
qld said:
The article I linked explicitly says Social Security is counted as income. I think it's been discussed before whether Chris gets food stamps. If he got food stamps, it says Virginia would presume he's indigent and give him the public defender. While they're not going to count Barb's income, they're not going to credit Chris with paying rent or a mortgage if they haven't cooked the books to make it look like Chris pays Barb to live there. If they had any sense, they could've fabricated a paper trail and made it look like Chris paid rent/utilities/ate separate from Barb and got him some food stamps. Plus, if he's without the automatic qualifier of being a public assistance recipient, they might look at his bank statements and count more than just the SS, but also the cash bouncing in an out via paypal.
Click to expand...

What about the massive credit card debt in his name? Usually I am not too much of a bleeding heart, but I think that any standard of poverty which does not allow Chris to get a public defender is way too high. He is not close to being able to afford his own lawyer.
 
Seems like discussion of the original post has petered out, so I'll close this to let things get posted in more relevant threads.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom