A private criminal
defense attorney is an attorney who is privately retained by a defendant
facing criminal charges.  A private criminal defense attorney has
the right to choose which cases he or she will defend. Because a private criminal defense attorney has
the right to pick and choose his or her cases, privately retained criminal defense attorneys often have more time
to devote to an individual case. 

 A public defender,
on the other hand, is also an agency of the state.  They have gone to law school and are
attorneys; however, they are employed by the government and are responsible for
defending anyone who has been charged with a criminal offense and qualifies for
a public defender.  To qualify for a public defender, a criminal defendant must be declared indigent by
the court.  This means that the court
must find that the defendant cannot afford to retain private counsel.  As a defendant, you do not get to choose your
public defender nor do you have any
say in his or her level of expertise in handling your specific charges.  Unlike the prosecutor who is generally assigned to handle a specific type of
case, most public defenders do not
specialize in a specific area of criminal
defense, which means they may lack the same expertise as the prosecutor, who does specialize.  In addition, they have very little say over
how many cases they may be required to take. 
While many public defenders
are great attorneys, sometimes they lack the time or expertise needed to devote
to an individual case. 

  3.) What is a Sex Crimes Specialist?

A sex crimes
specialist is a prosecutor, public
defender or privately retained
criminal defense attorney who specializes in sex crimes.  Many prosecuting
agencies have divided their agency into specialized groups.  For example, the Sex Crimes Bureau at the Maricopa
County Attorney’s Office specializes only in crimes that are sexual in
nature.  The prosecutors in that bureau receive specialized training which is mandated
by the governor in order to prosecute sex
crimes cases.  Unlike the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office does
not have a specialized Sex Crimes Bureau.  This means that any attorney who works as a public defender may be assigned a sex crimes case as part of his or her
general caseload, but does not guarantee that he or she has the same training
and experience as the assigned prosecutor
in your case.  A privately retained criminal defense attorney may or may not have
the experience needed to defend a sex
crimes case.  When shopping for a private criminal defense attorney, it’s
important to ask about their qualifications in this specialized area of law.