Italian term (edited): avvocato d\\\'ufficio

they appoint him to you

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_defender:
In the United States, a public defender is an attorney whose duty is to provide legal representation to indigent defendants who have been charged criminally and who are unable to pay for an attorney. The state and federal government, respectively, pay for the public defender agencies that they employ to provide indigent defense. Appointed attorneys are required for anyone accused in a criminal case who is exposed to any likelihood of imprisonment. The Supreme Court's most important decision in this area of law held that the Sixth Amendment required that governments afford indigent defendants with competent counsel. Different jurisdictions use different approaches to providing such counsel. By far, the most common is a public defender office, though a substantial minority comply with Gideon by using a panel of private attorneys who are compensated for their appointed work.



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Note added at 1 hr (2007-12-01 00:10:35 GMT)
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UK = Duty Solicitor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_solicitor

In the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries, a duty solicitor (or, in Canada, a duty counsel) is a solicitor whose services are available to a person either suspected of, or charged with, a criminal offence free of charge (pro bono) if that person does not have access to a solicitor of their own.