How Might the Type of Attorney a Defendant Has Impact the Outcome of Their Sentence?

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Defendants in the American criminal legal system have the right to a lawyer under the sixth amendment. However, there is significant variation in the type of the attorney or representation (e.g., public defenders, privately attained, or Pro se). Past studies have found that most attorney types used by criminal defendants nationwide were public defenders (Cohen, 2017). Those who had private attorneys were less likely to be convicted than those with public defenders (Cohen, 2017). The current study utilizes data from the Administrative Office of the Courts from January 2005 to January 2022, to analyze the types of representation per defendant and their sentencing outcomes. We ran comparative analyses to determine if there is a relationship between the type of attorney and the outcome of a defendant's case. Preliminary results show that 58.0% of defendants had public attorneys, while 26.9% of defendants had private attorneys. For felony cases, we find that individuals with private attorneys are sentenced to less time incarcerated on average compared to those who have public defenders, however, individuals with private attorneys are sentenced to higher fine amounts. Findings from the current study will add further depth to the literature on sentencing disparities within the field.

Authors

• Emma Wakeman, Western Kentucky University

• Brittany T. Martin, Western Kentucky University