Plight of the Indigent Accused in America - An Examination of Alternative Models for Providing Criminal Defense Services to the Poor, Volume 2 - Policy-Makers' Report

• NCJ Number: 98680
• Author(s): N Albert-Goldberg; M J Hartman; W J Obrien; P Houlden; S Balkin
• Date Published: November 1986
• Length: 86 pages
• Grant Number(s): 81-IJ-CX-0081
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

Twelve counties providing private defense service to indigent accused persons were studied to determine the factors in the organization and operation of these systems that are critical in affecting outcomes, costs, and speed of disposition, and the quality of performance in general.

Abstract

The counties were located in five States and operated a variety of systems, including a contract defense system, a coordinated assigned counsel system, a mixed ad hoc assigned counsel approach, and a part-time defender system. Data came from site visits and detailed analyses of costs and dockets in 6 sites; interviews in 12 counties; and computer analysis of 2,400 court cases. The analysis covered the cost implications of using private counsel in various systems, the relationship between cost and quality of service, attorney performance in defense systems using private counsel, and the processing of cases in these systems. The systems in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, Calif., were found to be exemplary systems. The first of these handled all indigent defense representation, while the other handled only the cases that could not be handled by the local full-time defender office. Data tables and profiles of the two model systems and eight other systems are included. For an executive summary and detailed analyses of results, see NCJ 98678-79 and 98681.