The public defender's name is Hal Palmer, not Harold.

Thanks for the... news(?)

Why is it unexpected for him to hire a private lawyer? He's facing serious charges.

We do not need updates on every step of the proceedings. Are you going to write updates for every motion that is filed? This man has not yet been convicted, and a jury has not even been selected as of yet. I say give it a rest until there is actual news to report. Until then, this dude is just another person charged with a crime, and he does not deserve to be tried in the media before he gets his day in court.

@1, they are all over it, you dumb fuck. You need to learn to pick your battles.

I have a feeling that this reporter does not have even a basic understanding of how court proceedings work. Why then is she "covering" this case?

Everybody needs representation.

As I've said a number of times now, there's more to this case than meets the eye.

@10 Yeah I agree. There are definately some pieces missing. Time to sit back relax and wait as it plays out. Jumping to conclusions and or speculating at this point is unwise.

This is not exactly news, since many defendants don't immediately hire defense attorneys. Jeff's a good attorney, and the fact that he's defended sex offenders has absolutely no relevance to this case, since this guy isn't being charged with sex abuse. @7's right.

@4 because, presumably, he can't afford it on his own thus originally having a public pretender

1 mental illness defense, stat.

Still learning how to report?
"This change seems unexpected, and the timing is interesting considering Masmari just had an arraignment a few hours ago."
It's anything but unexpected or ill-timed - court-apointees regularly rep defendants at arraignments, and attorneys are frequently thereafter hired. Amid your guesswork, your lack of court knowledge, and useless information about an attorney you're judging by his clients, you missed a bigger story about the suspect and his crime (one you'll actually have to do some reporting to uncover).

Just to drive home the point that was made more eloquently by previous commentators, there is nothing unexpected, or interesting, about this. This happens all the time. In fact, it would be more interesting if Masmari KEPT a public defender, given the high profile and serious nature of the allegations. Jeff Cohen is a well-respected attorney and the implication that his previous clients are a reflection on his character or his ability to represent Masmari is ignorant and frankly absurd.