When it comes to criminal charges, you need to retain criminal law attorneys early in the investigation or at the beginning when you are first charged with a crime.  Part of your rights regarding criminal charges is that you have the right to be represented by attorney and that if you cannot afford to hire an attorney that an attorney will be provided for you free of charge, or at a reduced rate.  

Provided lawyers are called public defenders.  They are appointed by the state to represent people who are charged with criminal charges and cannot afford to hire a criminal attorney to defend them in regard to the charges.  

For minor charges, it may be reasonable to use an appointed attorney because they do in fact practice criminal law.  For more serious charges, especially felonies, it is advisable to retain your own criminal law attorneys if it is at all possible to make sure that you get the best defense available.  

Public defenders are generally more apt to bargain with the prosecution to settle a criminal case by pleading guilty or no contest to a lesser charge in order to clear the case load.  No offense to the public defenders office or the lawyers that work for them, but generally these lawyers are overworked and underpaid.  The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that in 2007, public defense offices handled about six million cases.  Their case load is unreal, especially in populous communities like Westchester County.  They deserve a lot of respect for what they do.  

When settling in a criminal case, you do need to be aware that any charges on your criminal record, no matter how minor, have the ability to affect you and your career throughout your life.  Pleading no contest is basically the same as pleading guilty.  If you wish to pursue the case by pleading not guilty and to go to trial to defend yourself in front of a jury, hiring criminal law attorneys is highly recommended.     

While criminal law attorneys sometimes plea bargain for the best outcome for their client, they are generally prepared to go to trial if necessary to give the client the best representation available to them.  They have a lighter case load than most public defenders and they have the time to dedicate to a criminal case in order to prepare an appropriate and aggressive defense which is needed if the case goes to trial.  

Hiring criminal law attorneys may be somewhat costly; however, for most people who face criminal charges the defense is well worth the expense.  Using a public defender to defend you can be a lot like making a trade between money and a charge.  Some people choose to plea bargain without realizing that a plea of no contest or pleading guilty to a charge can actually affect them in the future.  Sometimes it is necessary to plea bargain in order to avoid stringent judgment if found guilty by a jury; however, the best advice and representation will come from criminal law attorneys.       

Sources cited: 

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Public Defender Offices, 2007 - Statistical Tables found at:

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1758