The last time your husband was arrested he was appointed a public defender to represent him in court. Now he’s been taken in again. Will he get the same attorney for his new case? It all depends. Either it went well last time or it went wrong. What is Your Husband's Situation? If he qualifies again to have a public defender appointed to him, he may very well get the same one, especially if he is still on probation from the last case. For example, your husband got three years probation and picks up another charge while still being supervised. The judge might appoint the same person because he already knows your husband. But there are no guarantees. Sometimes the prior public defender is so busy he or she cannot take on more cases. And once in awhile they ask not to be reassigned to a certain person if they feel it was not a good working relationship the first time around.  He must speak Up In Court:  If your husband wants the same public defender he should make that request at his first court appearance. A simple, “Your honor, when I was here before I was represented by Mr. X and I would like to have him appointed again if possible,” is all it takes. Even if the judge works with a rotation list of attorneys, he can deviate from the list. If the requested public defender is too busy, or has other reasons for not getting involved, your husband will have to work with whomever he gets. If he does not want the same public defender this time around, he should also state that in court. Final thoughts: To make sure the person assigned to your husband's case does the best job possible, have at least one family member at each court appearance; and tell your husband to mention that he is loved by his family and they come to support him in the courtroom at each appearance.  The attorney may work harder knowing that this particular part of the audience is watching. Gang member sentenced to 90 years for DePaul student’s murder Posting Bail and Skipping Court: If He Doesn’t Appear, Will You Go To Jail?