The federal government is literally subsidizing criminal defense work in this country along with everything else. And here is the point to remember, the attorneys appointed are often private practice lawyers on a panel and not just public defenders.
Most of it is funded by the states and local government. And representation is mandated by state and federal constitutions.
The state funds federal criminal defense? I don't think so.
My point was more that this whole perception of the scummy rich lawyer is false. Most lawyers I know are struggling to get by.
No. My point is that the overwhelming amount of criminal litigation is held in state/county courts, and therefore more of the public expenditure comes from state and local taxes. The federal defender receives federal money, but their caseloads are smaller. Also, there are very few federal capital cases, compared to state cases.
Our local assistant public defenders start at $80,000, the same as assistant DAs, but you are correct that criminal defense attorneys don't generally pull in the money that big M & A, civil litigation, tax, corporate firms make.
My advice to young defense counsel is to find a niche (DUI, juvenile, traffic) so that you become known as the go-to guy in the field. But for the most part defense counsel also expand into areas like unemployment, workers' comp, SSI, family, and immigration to broaden the practice.
Another problem with criminal practice is that it's the area with the highest incidence of clients not paying their fee. And it's common for judges not to allow an attorney to withdraw from an important stage of the proceeding for lack of payment.
