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I’m trying to understand what level of communication from a public defender is considered normal in a serious felony case.
I was arrested on charges that I maintain are completely false. Since then I’ve spent months putting together a very detailed evidence binder because I honestly had no idea what else to do. I’m not an attorney, so I started organizing everything I could think of that might matter.
The binder includes:
sworn witness statements
timelines
social media posts contradicting allegations
text messages
digital evidence issues
custody-related communications
One of the texts literally says:
“I will only use an accusation if you fight me on our daughter.”
I also have social media posts from the alleged victim on the day of and day after one alleged incident thanking me publicly and saying she had a great time the night before.
Despite all of this:
not a single witness has been contacted
I have never been asked follow-up questions about the evidence
emails asking how to preserve evidence properly for admissibility go unanswered
I recently found out the State is trying to revoke my bond and still received no explanation or strategy discussion
When I called the PD office, the assistant told me they do not need to schedule an in-person meeting or teleconference unless the attorney decides they need something from me, and that my next court date is calendar call in August.
What’s making this difficult is that I don’t know what evidence is legally useful versus irrelevant unless someone communicates with me. I can’t investigate intelligently if nobody will tell me what matters, what needs authentication, what witnesses are important, or what issues the defense is actually focusing on.
I understand public defenders are overloaded. I’m not expecting daily calls. But in a serious case where I’m facing prison time, is this level of communication normal?

Location: Florida

submitted by /u/Sweaty_Guest_9412
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