Lawyers who represent low-income criminal defendants in Comal County may have to step up their game under a new test program that opens the world of indigent defense to the free market.

With a $200,000 grant from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, Comal County is piloting a client-choice indigent-defense program that puts the defendant in charge of selecting his lawyer from a county-provided list of qualified attorneys. Judges or court administrators normally assign lawyers by rotation.