She had a court appointed attorney, they are way over worked and will just try to get you to accept a plea because they don't have time for your trial. Won't care if you're innocent, because they don't have time to care. I believe John Oliver covered court appointment lawyers, I suggest checking that out if you want to know more about that situation. It would have cost money to get a better lawyer who would actually fight for her and that's money she didn't have.

Ya I live in Canada and we do but she actually paid for one. 10 grand later and they told her she could fight the charge but would likely get worse penalties if she was still found guilty as opposed to if she plead guilty right away. No money left to appeal if that happened. If she had the money and time she probably would have been found innocent but she already burned through her savings.

The attitude you have is the attitude everybody has before they get fucked over by our justice system. The amount of money you have should not determine how well or how long you can fight in court. The entire system is set up to screw over the poor while the rich just spend some money and go on their way.