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). A

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.