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If You Can’t Afford an Attorney, One Will Be Appointed. And You May Get a Huge Bill

www.themarshallproject.org Her “Free” Court-Appointed Lawyer Cost Her Thousands of Dollars

In Iowa, people too poor to pay for a lawyer are on the hook for big fees they can’t afford.

Her “Free” Court-Appointed Lawyer Cost Her Thousands of Dollars

On television and in the movies, police officers read people their Miranda rights and tell them they will be provided a lawyer if they cannot afford one. But in reality, legal representation is rarely free. The Supreme Court has found the Constitution guarantees the right to counsel but allows states, in most cases, to try to recoup the cost. More than 40 do so, according to a 2022 report by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.

Iowa takes these efforts to the extremes, an investigation by The Marshall Project found. Not only does Iowa impose some of the highest fees in the nation — affecting tens of thousands of people each year — it also charges poor people for legal aid even if they are acquitted or the cases against them are dropped.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240212131540/https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/02/12/miranda-rights-indigent-defense-iowa

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If You Can’t Afford an Attorney, One Will Be Appointed. And You May Get a Huge Bill

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