Justice Delayed: Spatial Inequality and the Effects of Legal Resources on Jail Populations

• In Event: How Law, Politics, and Economy Shaped Mass Incarceration

Abstract

This study explores the role of limited legal resources in contributing to jail admissions and lengthy pretrial detentions. The concept of “legal deserts,” areas with a shortage of lawyers and legal resources, often rural, has primarily been applied in the context of civil justice. However, this article extends the legal deserts literature to the criminal-legal system, exploring the impact of limited legal infrastructure on criminal-legal outcomes. Building on previous research in rural Washington State, we found that many individuals were jailed for charges such as court nonappearance, which could potentially be mitigated through greater access to legal, pretrial, and social services. Using a mixed-methods approach, we examine the relationship between the availability of criminal-legal resources and jail admissions, as well as pretrial detention length, across rural and urban counties in Washington State. Our quantitative analysis assesses how factors like fewer lawyers per capita, limited public defense funding, and criminal court backlogs relate to jail outcomes. Additionally, qualitative interviews with 71 individuals incarcerated in rural jails highlight how legal deserts exacerbate jail stays and hinder individuals' ability to recover post-arrest, contributing to spatial inequalities in punishment.

Authors

• Jennifer Schwartz, Washington State University

• Jennifer Sherman, Washington State University