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Wichita County Public Defender Office: An Evaluation of Case Processing, Client Outcomes, and Cost

Wichita County Public Defender Office: An Evaluation of Case Processing, Client Outcomes, and Cost. Texas Indigent Defense Commission Office of Court Administration Public Policy Research Institute Texas A&M University. Who are PD clients?. Public defenders are:

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Wichita County Public Defender Office: An Evaluation of Case Processing, Client Outcomes, and Cost

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  1. Wichita County Public Defender Office:An Evaluation of Case Processing, Client Outcomes, and Cost Texas Indigent Defense Commission Office of Court Administration Public Policy Research Institute Texas A&M University

  2. Who are PD clients? • Public defenders are: • 20-30% more likely than other attorneys to represent people with low-level repeat misdemeanor charges • 60% less likely than retained attorneys to represent serious violent charges

  3. Who are PD clients? • Public defenders are: • About 30% more likely than retained attorneys to represent defendants with mental illness • 33% more likely than other attorneys to represent substance users

  4. What is the effect of bond on indigent defendants? • Irrespective of attorney type, bond is associated with better case outcomes: • 86% fewer pretrial jail days • 54% shorter jail sentences • 30% more likely to have charges dismissed • Less chance of being found guilty

  5. What is the effect of bond on indigent defendants? • Compared to people with retained attorneys, indigent defendants are: • 16% less likely to make bond • Take 90% longer to make bond • Indigence is a stronger predictor of bond than: • First degree felony charges • Up to four prior felony arrests

  6. What is the effect of bond on indigent defendants? • For people unable to make bond, public defenders: • Have charges filed 25% faster than other attorneys • Dispose cases about 38% more quickly than retained attorneys

  7. Are there differences in level of service to clients? • Compared to private appointed attorneys, public defenders: • Make contact and meet with clients 1-3 days earlier • Spend more time on each case • 21% more time on each misdemeanor • 42% more time on each felony • Engage in more assertive motion practice

  8. Are there differences in level of service to clients? • Public defender cases receive much more investigation: • Private appointed attorneys… • use licensed investigation in less than 1% of all cases • Public defenders average… • 1.3 hours of investigation per misdemeanor • 2.5 hours of investigation per felony

  9. MAJOR FINDING • Largely because of better investigation, for every 100 cases, public defenders achieve: • 11 more dismissals • 2 more felonies reduced to misdemeanor charges • Therefore…

  10. MAJOR FINDING • Public defender clients are 23% less likelyto be found guilty than other indigent defendants. • Costs avoided due to public defender dismissals (court costs, prosecutors’ costs, and pretrial detention costs) • Save the county $210 per case

  11. Are there other cost savings? • Each case assigned to the public defender instead of a private appointed attorney: • Saves the county $14 per case • Public defender clients average 0.45 more post-disposition jail days than clients of private assigned attorneys, which: • Costs the county $20 per case

  12. BOTTOM LINE… • Public defenders provide a higher level of service, including investigators • Consequently, people represented by a public defender are: • More likely to have all charges dismissed • Less likely to be found guilty, and • Generate a net benefit of $204 per case to the county.

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