Public versus private defense: Can money buy justice?

Rattner, Arye; Turjeman, Hagit; Fishman, Gideon

doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.12.005

Cited by 20 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…In each case, defendants with public defenders received better outcomes than defendants with assigned counsel, as well as shorter prison sentences than defendants with private counsel. This suggests that public defenders—often depicted as less effective due to lower qualifications (e.g., Rattner et al, 2008) or severe resource constraints (e.g., Bibas, 2013; Pfaff, 2017)—are indeed as effective, and possibly more effective, than other forms of legal representation for juveniles in criminal court. Also consistent with our theoretical expectations, we found that assigned counsel, an alternative form of representation for indigent defendants, presents the least effective form of legal representation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to high caseloads and limited resources, as the argument goes, public defender organizations cannot possibly provide quality representation for all indigent cases (Williams, 2013). In addition to lack of resources, there is also a perception that private attorneys are more qualified than public defenders because public defenders represent attorneys who were “unable to succeed in the private sector” (Rattner et al, 2008, p. 43), contributing to a “low status” in the legal community (Cole, 1970, p. 338).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Juvenile defendants in criminal court thus need zealous advocacy from their legal representation. While it may seem reasonable to assume that privately retained attorneys would be most effective under the basic logic that you “get what you pay for” (Rattner et al, 2008, p. 44), there are reasons for hesitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Right to a Good Defense: Investigating the Influence of Attorney Type Across Urban Counties for Juveniles in Criminal Court

Zane

Singer

Welsh

2020

Criminal Justice Policy Review

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Juvenile defendants in criminal court represent an especially vulnerable group for whom quality legal representation is critical. While some juvenile defendants are able to obtain private counsel, indigent defendants are provided an attorney by the government. One long-standing concern is that these court-appointed attorneys are less effective. Using data on juveniles in criminal court across 37 large, urban counties, the present study examines conviction and sentencing outcomes by comparing private counsel, public defenders, and assigned counsel. Results indicate that defendants with public defenders were less likely to be convicted, less likely to be incarcerated in prison, and served shorter prison sentences compared to defendants with assigned counsel. Contrary to hypotheses, however, the effect of attorney type was not conditioned by court urbanism. The findings suggest that public defenders provide effective legal representation for juveniles in criminal court. Research is needed to determine whether this holds across different contexts (e.g., rural).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Right to a Good Defense: Investigating the Influence of Attorney Type Across Urban Counties for Juveniles in Criminal Court

Zane

Singer

Welsh

2020

Criminal Justice Policy Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Results on the effectiveness of public versus private legal defense, however, produce contradictory findings. Many studies find that criminal defendants represented by public attorneys do not fare worse (McIntyre, 1987;Rattner, Turjeman, and Fishman, 2008;Spohn and DeLone, 2000). Wice (1985) described the public defender as a lawyer who is capable of establishing working relationships with prosecutors and judges, and who is therefore in a better position to negotiate pleas.…”

Section: Variables and Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%