As court budgets and funding for public defender services are cut (or at least not increased) and given rising caseloads, there are places where seeking some form of payment from the poor for public defender services is happening with some frequency. It is a practice that is not without controversy. Just where does the money come from? If you are found not guilty but spent months in jail waiting for your trial, is this fair? Who gets paid first, the victim who is owed restitution or the defender fund? 

Paying for Your Public Defender

From FIndLaw. :

You should know that in some jurisdictions, a public defender is not necessarily free. States are increasingly imposing fees on indigent criminal defendants, including fees for the public defender. Sometimes defendants have to pay the fees even if they’re acquitted of the charges.