[agarden]

If someone defrauds medicare for millions, then they do not deserve, in a moral sense, expensive counsel or any help at all, because they are guilty. But a person can be accused of defrauding medicare for millions without having actually done so. And in that case, yes, they deserve to be free to hire an expensive lawyer.

Why? Because the prosecutor set against them is an expensive prosecutor and is going to give the case more of his attention.

If you have been charged with a minor offense that carries small penalties, you will be charged by a prosecutor that is lower on the career ladder and cares less about your particular case; they will put less effort into it. But if you have been changed with a big crime that carries large penalties, that is going to be prosecuted by a better lawyer. A public defender might well be adequate to defend against a minor charge but be wholly inadequate against a major charge where the prosecution is very highly motivated and incentivized to win.

And since we do not know if the charged party is guilty or not, they ought to be presumed innocent and not restricted from hiring counsel of their choice and means.