My Take
There is an understandable misconception that public defenders are less than attorneys or are in some way beholden to the court system or district attorneys rather than you. This is false. Completely false.
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Public defenders have been to law school, passed the bar exam, and been licensed by the Supreme Court just as any private attorney has been.
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Public defenders have much more trial and negotiation experience than your average private attorney, we spend far more time in court and working cases.
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Public defenders are more familiar with the county, judges, prosecutors, and jurors where they practice, further giving your case the edge.
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Public defenders are not in it for the paycheck. Let's be honest, we don't get paid much. We don't get paid to bullshit our clients either. I won't lie to you or draw out the process just to make more money.
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We do this job because we love what we do, we love our clients, and we hate overzealous prosecution.
This misconception is fueled by private attorneys who want your money.
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The truth is that the trial and plea outcomes are the same whether you have a private attorney or a public defender, one just costs you an arm and a leg.
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Some like to suggest that "They are paid by the state, and . . . public defenders have a cozy relationship with local court officials." - This is laughably false. Public defenders have a good enough relationship with court staff to be able to assist you and work your case better than any private attorney, but not one which compromises your case in any way.
However, it is indisputable that public defenders are overworked.
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Public defenders have 100-200 clients at any time.
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This does mean far more experience and the ability to marshal cases in numbers.
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Public defenders have to spend their time wisely, efficiently, fighting for you. This can mean less time speaking with you about your case and more time working on it.
The Data
Working on adding more, but here is a tidbit:
Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Department of Justice, 2000:
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In both Federal and large State courts, conviction rates were the same for defendants represented by publicly financed and private attorneys. Approximately 9 in 10 Federal defendants and 3 in 4 State defendants in the 75 largest counties were found guilty, regardless of type of attorney.
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Defendants with private attorneys were sentenced to an average of 62 months in prison, and those with publicly financed attorneys, to 58 months (table 4).
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Of defendants sentenced to serve time, those using publicly financed attorneys had shorter sentences than those with private counsel. Those with publicly financed attorneys were sentenced to an average of 2½ years of incarceration and those with private counsel to 3 years (table 12).
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Whether their attorney was appointed or hired, about three-quarters of convicted jail inmates charged with a felony had bail or bond set for them (table 15).
Still Concerned?
Reach out to me. Let's talk it through.
If after that you are still concerned, I'll give you my supervisor's information.