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A Jailhouse Lawyer’s
Chapter 4:
How to Find a Lawyer
Columbia Human Rights Law Review
8th Edition 2009
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual is written and updated by members of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. The law prohibits us from providing any legal advice to prisoners. This information is not intended as legal advice or representation nor should you consider or rely upon it as such. Neither the JLM nor any information contained herein is intended to or shall constitute a contract between the JLM and any reader, and the JLM does not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained herein. Additionally, your use of the JLM should not be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship with the JLM staff or anyone at Columbia Law School. Finally, while we have attempted to provide information that is up-to-date and useful, because the law changes frequently, we cannot guarantee that all information is current. CHAPTER 4
HOW TO FIND A LAWYER*
A. Introduction
Finding a lawyer if you do not have the money to pay a private attorney can be difficult, but it is not impossible. Before you try to find a lawyer, you must know the following: (1) the type of correctional institution you are in (city, county, federal or state); (2) the type of case for which you are seeking representation (civil, criminal, or criminal (3) if you are seeking a criminal appeal, the name of the county in which you allegedly (4) your county of residence. The more specific things you know about your case, the easier it will be to find a lawyer and to help the lawyer prepare your case. There are generally two types of cases in which you may be involved: (1) Criminal: A criminal case is a case in which the state charges you with a crime. If
you have already been convicted and are in prison, you are probably not currently involved in a criminal trial unless the state thinks that you committed a crime while you were in prison. Therefore, this Chapter does not discuss how to find a lawyer for a criminal trial. But, you may want to try a criminal appeal. A criminal appeal is a case in which you appeal from the conviction or sentence that sent you to prison. If you have a right to a criminal appeal, you also have the right to a lawyer if you cannot afford one.1 Read Part B below if you would like to find a lawyer to help you in your criminal appeal. (2) Civil: A civil case is a case in which you either bring a claim against someone (an
individual or the state), or an individual brings a non-criminal claim against you. You file a civil lawsuit whenever you bring any of the suits explained in the JLM Chapters about federal and state habeas corpus, Section 1983, Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules, and tort actions. Unlike in criminal cases and appeals, you do not have the right to a lawyer when filing a civil case. Read Part C if you would like to try to find a lawyer to help you in your civil case. B. Attorneys for Criminal Appeals
When you have the right to bring a criminal appeal, you also have the right to have a lawyer assigned to your case if you are unable to pay a private lawyer to represent you.2 If you cannot afford an attorney for your criminal appeal, you should petition the court to proceed as a poor person (or what in legal terms is called in forma pauperis) and ask the court to assign an attorney to your case. Chapter 9 of the JLM, “Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence” has sample poor person’s papers. *This Chapter was written by Won Park based on a previous version by Angie Armer and members of the 1991–1992 Columbia Human Rights Law Review. 1. Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 357–58, 83 S. Ct. 814, 816–17, 9 L. Ed.2d. 811, 814–15 (1963) (finding that a State must provide counsel for an indigent defendant in a first appeal as of right). 2. Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 357–58, 83 S. Ct. 814, 816–17, 9 L. Ed.2d. 811, 814–15 (1963). There are some higher-level appeals you do not have the right to bring, such as to the United States Supreme Court. In those cases, you may not have the right to a lawyer if you cannot afford one. See Ross v. Moffitt, 417 U.S. 600, 610, 94 S. Ct. 2437, 2443, 41 L. Ed.2d 341, 351 (1974) (holding a State need not appoint counsel to aid a poor person pursuing a second-tier discretionary appeal). One of the first places you should try contacting when looking for a lawyer is the Public Defender or Indigent Defender office in any of the following places: (1) the county where the appellate court (the higher court) is located; (2) the county where your prison is; (3) the county where your original trial took place; or (4) the county where you live. These offices can provide you with further information about having a lawyer assigned to your criminal appeal. If you have access to the Internet, the easiest way to find a Public Defender is by doing a simple Internet search. For example, you can try using the term “Public Defender” and the name of one of the four counties mentioned above on a research site like Google or Yahoo.3 If you would like to choose your lawyer instead being assigned one, you have fewer options than if you were filing a civil suit. Most Legal Aid offices do not handle criminal appeals. But, some organizations have specific criminal appeals divisions. The Legal Aid Society of New York City is one such organization. See Appendix IV of the JLM for other such groups. You might also contact local prisoners’ rights groups, which may refer you to organizations handling criminal appeals free of charge.4 Keep in mind that lawyers cannot arrange contingency fees with you for a criminal case. Read Part C below for more information about contingency fees. C. Attorneys for Civil Cases
If you are looking for a lawyer for a civil case in the federal courts, think about whether it is worth it to bring your case because of what may happen under the Prison Litigation
Reform Act (“PLRA”). You MUST read Chapter 14 of the JLM, “The Prison Litigation
Reform Act.” Failure to follow the requirements in the PLRA can have negative
consequences. For example, you can lose the good-time credit you have earned so far. Some
attorneys do not know very much about the PLRA, so you should make sure to know about it
yourself so that you can tell your attorney about the requirements.
If you have a civil case, and if you are incarcerated in a New York state institution, you may be able to find a lawyer through the Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York (“PLS”). PLS is described in the very beginning of Appendix IV of the JLM (Part A(1)(a)). PLS provides assistance to prisoners in state institutions in cases involving habeas corpus, jail time and sentence problems, and warrants and detainers. They may also be able to forward your letter to a private attorney who could handle your Section 1983 case, Article 78 petition, or tort action. But unlike the Legal Aid Society of New York mentioned above, PLS does not handle criminal cases or criminal appeals. If you are in a city, county, or federal prison, check the other organizations listed in Appendix IV to see if special legal assistance programs serve prisons in your area. Check if a Legal Aid office exists in the county in which you are incarcerated. If none exists in your county, check for offices in the surrounding counties, since these organizations might be able To find a list of Federal Public Defenders, visit the Office of Defender Services website, available at http://www.fd.org. Federal Public Defenders either work for the federal government directly, or are paid through federal government funds. Take note that Federal Public Defenders take on fewer cases than State or local Public Defenders. 4. The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) publishes a Prisoners’ Assistance Directory with contact information for organizations helping prisoners around the U.S. This book costs $35. If National Prison Project of the ACLU Attn: Prisoners’ Assistance Directory 915 15th St. NW, 7th Floor Washington, D.C. 20005 to help you. Note that Legal Aid organizations usually handle only civil matters unless they have a special criminal appeals division. Also, many Legal Aid offices may not be able to help you because their government funding does not allow them to help prisoners. However, the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the Legal Aid Society of New York does not receive government funding, and it sometimes takes cases that help many prisoners. You can also ask the court to appoint a lawyer for you. You should do this at the same time you file your poor person’s papers.5 New York law states that a New York court may assign an attorney to you in a civil case at the same time it permits you to proceed as a poor person, but this is rare.6 If you can establish your inability to pay a lawyer, you may be able to get a lawyer assigned to your case if your claim is substantial. For example, you are much more likely to get a lawyer if there is a lot of factual investigation that must be done on your case that you cannot do because you do not have the money. You are also more likely to get a lawyer if the facts of your case depend on the credibility (believability) of people involved.7 In general, if your case requires you to know very complex legal issues that you yourself cannot handle, the court may be more willing to assign you a lawyer.8 If you are not assigned a lawyer but your case survives the defendants’ motion for summary judgment,9 you should again request the court to assign you a lawyer as they may be more likely to do so at that stage.10 Remember, if the court assigns you a lawyer, you will have little or no say as to who your lawyer will be. Thus, you first should try on your own to find a lawyer whom you trust and who is committed to helping you. Remember that many lawyers will be taking your case to earn a fee. Whether you pay a flat fee (fixed amount of money for the lawyer to represent you), an hourly fee, or a contingency fee, you will still be expected to pay for the lawyer’s litigation expenses, either before or after money is spent on your case.11 These expenses may include things like long- 5. Chapters 2–8 of the JLM discuss how to bring a lawsuit. Chapter 9 of the JLM, “Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence,” explains how to file poor person’s (also called in forma pauperis) papers in the context of an appeal. You should change the affidavit example shown in Appendix B-3 of JLM, Chapter 9 to show that you are filing poor person’s papers in a civil case, not a criminal appeal. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1101 (McKinney 2007). These papers establish that you do not have the money to pay 6. N.Y. C.P.L.R. 1102(a) (McKinney 2007). The court has the discretion to appoint you a lawyer for free if a lawyer is needed to reach a fair decision. But, you do not have a constitutional or statutory right to a lawyer. See In re Smiley, 369 36 N.Y.2d 433, 438, 330 N.E.2d 53, 55, N.Y.S.2d 87, 91 (1975) (noting that there is no absolute right to assigned counsel and that the determination to assign an attorney lies within the discretion of the court). 7. For example, if you claim that your warden assaulted you, the facts of your case would depend on the credibility of you, your warden, witnesses, and maybe other prisoners or staff members who knew you and the warden. In such a case, a court might be more willing to assign you a lawyer. 8. See Hodge v. Police Officers, 802 F.2d 58, 61–62 (2d Cir. 1986) (reaffirming the Maclin factors apply to judicial determinations of appointment of counsel); Maclin v. Freake, 650 F.2d 885, 887 (7th Cir. 1981) (setting forth the factors for a district court to consider in determining whether to appoint counsel). But see Stewart v. McMickens, 677 F.Supp. 226, 227–228 (S.D.N.Y. 1988) (interpreting Hodge to require appointment of counsel “only where the individualized assessment suggests that an apparently legitimate case cannot proceed without the assistance of an attorney”). 9. Summary judgment is when a court decides before a trial that no trial will be necessary because in applying the law to important undisputed facts, one party is clearly the winner. 10. You should request assignment of counsel again at this stage because if your case survives a summary judgment motion, the court thinks that it is worthy of a trial or hearing. See Hendricks v. Coughlin, 114 F.3d 390, 393 (2d Cir. 1997) (invalidating lower court’s application of a bright line rule of appointing counsel only after plaintiff’s case survived a motion for summary judgment). 11. See N.Y. State Bar Assoc., The Courts of New York: A Guide to Court Procedures with a http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PublicResources/GuidetotheiCourtsofNewYorki/Courts ofNY2002.pdf (discussing basis of your legal fee as well as your rights as a client). distance telephone calls, postage, photocopying, stenographers for depositions, hiring an investigator, medical reports, etc. Unless you get poor person’s status, you are also responsible by law for all court costs, such as filing fees. If you cannot pay a lawyer’s fees, a lawyer might take your case for a contingency fee.12 You will be asked to sign an agreement giving the lawyer a percentage (usually 33%) of whatever money the other side gives you if you win (the “recovery”). If you do not win, your lawyer gets no money. Lawyers cannot ask you for a contingency fee in criminal or domestic relations (family law) cases. D. Conclusion
Finding a lawyer whom you trust and can work with is an important part of your legal process. You should feel that you can be truthful with your lawyer, and that your lawyer is working in your best interest. Even if finding a good lawyer seems frustrating, keep trying. When you write letters to ask for legal help, provide as much specific information about your case as possible so a lawyer can see you have a good case. If you cannot find a lawyer, or you choose not to hire an attorney, you have the option of acting pro se. This means that you represent yourself without the aid of an attorney. You should still try to proceed pro se if you cannot find a lawyer. 12. You cannot be convinced to enter into a contingency fee arrangement by fraud, nor can your lawyer ask for so much money that the lawyer obviously took advantage of you. See Gair v. Peck, 6 N.Y.2d 97, 106, 160 N.E.2d 43, 48, 188 N.Y.S.2d 491, 497–498 (1959) (holding contingency fees may be disallowed where “the amount of the fee, standing alone and unexplained, may be sufficient to show that an unfair advantage was taken of the client or, in other words, that a legal fraud was perpetrated on him”); see also King v. Fox, 7 N.Y.3d 181, 191, 851 N.E.2d 1184, 1191, 818 N.Y.S.2d 833, 840 (stating a contingent fee may be unconscionable if not proportional to the value of the services rendered).

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