Hacker News Reader

One thing you can say which the officers are legally obliged to contend with (I think) is that you refuse to make any statements without consulting your state appointed attorney. The government is required by law to provide you an attorney if you can't afford one.

(IANAL)

View on HN

If you can't afford one and you are make less than a low threshold above the local poverty limit.

The test looks at assets and income, ignoring liabilities (except for necessary ongoing medical expenses).

To add to that, I believe it's mainly for criminal charges, there are other legal situations in which you may not be provided a lawyer (income limits or not). An example would be a civil forfeiture where you could have assets seized and whether you can retain a public defender or not is up to the judge, not a right.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com