Abstract
The importance of legal representation to a criminal defendant is widely accepted, but the quality of government-provided counsels (particularly public defenders) has continuously been questioned. Based on data from Tulsa County DUI and Drug programs in Oklahoma, the authors tested the impact of legal representation (public defender versus private counsel) on clients’ performance in program, measured by plea terms and program outcome. Initial bivariate analyses showed disparate effect of legal representation, as clients represented by private counsels received better plea terms and fared better in program outcome. This effect, however, disappeared once other variables were controlled. Instead, factors closely related to the clients themselves (e.g., demographic features and their criminal behaviors) significantly impacted their program performance.
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Cases and Statutes Cited
Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972)
Gideon v. Wainright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)
U.S. Constitution, Sixth Amendment
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Tulsa County Drug/DUI Court team (including all members) for permission to access critical data collected in this research, and thank Corinice Wilson and Justin Reinstein for their help with data collection in this project. The authors would also like to thank all anonymous reviewers for their careful review and suggestions.
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Liang, B., Long, M.A. & Brame, W. Is It Legal Representation or Clients? : An Empirical Testing of Clients’ Performance and Their Legal Representation in Tulsa County Drug and DUI Programs. Am J Crim Just 37, 544–561 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-011-9144-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-011-9144-0