At the same level, a lawyer may be involved. Rich folks can hire lawyers; the poor are required by law to be represented by court-appointed lawyers. Although this is fine in principle, in practice the process of appointing a lawyer for a suspect who can't afford one is mired with problems because the appointed lawyers do not always have the expertise required to handle the cases. Most of them are fresh from universities and lack experience. And although technically they are appointed by court, in reality they are picked by court officials.