Is a bar attorney the same as a public defender?
Full Question:
Answer:
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both.
In the United States, admission to the bar is permission granted by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. This is to be distinguished from membership in a bar association. In the United States, some states require bar association membership for all attorneys, while others do not. Illinois does not.
In the United States, a public defender is a lawyer whose duty is to provide legal counsel and representation to indigent defendants in criminal cases who are unable to pay for legal assistance. Public defenders are employed by the government (at the federal, state or county level), or they work for non-profit entities funded by the government (see below), as opposed to criminal defense attorneys in private practice. Appointed counsel are required to be available for anyone accused in criminal court, who is exposed to any likelihood of imprisonment, by the 6th Amendment and the Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright. Most jurisdictions choose to comply with their Gideon duty by establishing public defender offices, but a substantial minority complies with Gideon by having panels of appointed private counsel.
