Private Attorney vs Public Defender

PRIVATE ATTORNEY - Us. PUBLIC DEFENDER What's the real dipperence between a court-appointed attorney and one you hire yourself? Do you have a better chance at winning with one or the other? What about average sentencing and famous examples of each type of attorney? Learn the similarities and differences, plus some key facts about court cases. Private Attorney Public Defender TYPICALLY APPOINTED WHEN A DEFENDANT INDEPENDENTLY HIRED BY A DEFENDANT FOR LEGAL QUALIFIES AS INDIGENT (UNABLE TO PAY FOR A PRIVATE ATTORNEY/UNDER A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE; VARIES BY STATE) REPRESENTATION • DEFENDANT CAN CHOOSE SPECIFIC ATTORNEY • ATTORNEY CAN ACCEPT OR REFUSE CASES AT WILL • DEFENDANT HAS NO CHOICE OF SPECIFIC ATTORNEY ATTORNEY CAN'T REFUSE CASES, UNLESS THERE IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST AVERAGE SALARY AVERAGE SALARY $118,488 $51,759 COT PER HOUR COST/HOUR $588 UP TO FREE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH THE DEFENDANT IS WILLING TO PAY AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES DEPENDENT ON FUNDS ALLOCATED TO PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE OF THOSE REPRESENTED 7% 4% BY A PRIVATE ATTORNEY WERE CHARGED WITH THOSE REPRESENTED BY A PUBLIC DEFENDER THAT WERE CHARGED WITH RAPE/VIOLENT CRIMES: RAPE/VIOLENT CRIMES HUNDREDS OF CLIENTS; LIMITED TIME TO DISCUSS EACH CASE USUALLY FEWER CLIENTS THAN PUBLIC DEFENDERS; MORE TIME AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS A CASE CASELOAD NOT TO EXCEED 15O FELONIES OR 400 MISDEMEANORS NO CASELOAD LIMITS-UP TO INDIVIDUAL DISCRETION PER YEAR, 200 JUVENILE COURT CASES PER YEAR, 200 MENTAL HEALTH ACT CASES PER YEAR AND 25 APPEALS PER YEAR • 1 IN 3 1 IN 3 1 IN 5 1 IN 2 DEFENDANTS WITH PRIVATE ATTORNEYS HAVE HAVE A PRIOR FELONY DEFENDANTS WITH PUBLIC DEFENDERS HAVE HAVE A PRIOR FELONY NEVER BEEN ARRESTED NEVER BEEN ARRESTED BLACK PEOPLE ARE 36% WHITE DEFENDANTS, 26% 44% 2X MORE LIKELY.o WHITE DEFENDANTS, 34%, HAVE THEIR PRIMARY CHARGE REDUCED BLACK DEFENDANTS WHEN USINGA PRIVATE ATTORNEY BLACK DEFENDANTS WHITE PEOPLE ARE NEARLY 3X LESS LIKELY TO HAVE BAIL AVERAGE LENGTH OF JAIL/PRISON SENTENCING GRANTED WHEN USING A PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR CONVICTED DEFENDANTS: Vs. 31-35 MONTHS 23 MONTHS Overall, both. RECEIVE ABOUT EQUAL NUMBERS OF: REQUIRE: 53% % ADE FEMALE 22.4%. ARE MALE BAIL GRANTS 4 YEARS UNDERGRADUATE STUDY PLEA BARGAINS 3 YEARS LAW SCHOOL JAIL/PRISON SENTENCES CONVICTIONS .AND PASSING THE BAR EXAM ARE MINORITIES Court Facts JUST 2% OF ALL DEFENDANTS GO TO COURT PRO SE (WITHOUT REPRESENTATION) ABOUT 4 IN 5 CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS ARE INDIGENT, QUALIFYING FOR PUBLIC DEFENSE OVER 96% OF CONVICTED DEFENDANTS ENTER A GUILTY PLEA 1 MILLION FELONY THERE ARE CONVICTIONS IN THE US EACH YEAR... „AND 18 MILLION MISDEMEANOR CASES FILED EACH YEAR 2/3 OF INCARCERATED AMERICANS ARE AWAITING TRIAL Sources http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2010/o9/17/who-is-better-public-defenders-or-private-criminal-defense-attorneys/ http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/uge/points-to-consider-when-hiring-a-private-lawyer-over-a-public-defender http://www.payscale.com/af/calc.aspx?af-&src-calcCi&job-Senior%20Attorney&city-&state-&country«United%20States http://abcnews.go.com/Business/amanda-knoxs-acquittal-familys-heavy-financial-burden-close/story?id-14643780#T9JkeNVDxl9 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract id-1876474 http://www.psmag.com/legal-affairs/public-defenders-as-effective-as-private-attorneys-21292/ http://www.nlada.org/Defender/Defender Kit/facts https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/185632.pdf http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Legal/Lawyers.htm http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/system.overload final.pdf http://www.payscale.com/af/calc.aspx?af-2385&src-SH1&job-public%20defender&city-&state- http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/marketresearch/PublicDocuments/abalawyerdemographics2012.authcheckdam.pdf http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Legal/Lawyers.htm#tab-4 http://www.slate.com/articles/news and politics/jurisprudence/2012/04/misdemeanors can_have_major.consequences for the_people_charged html http://www.ussc.gov/Research/Research_Publications/2010/20101230 FY09.Overview_Federal Criminal Cases.pdf Infographic by: www.CRIMINALJUSTICEDEGREESCHOOLS.COM