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Public defenders being equally effective at gaining acquittals for defendants when compared to private counsel has allowed for an assumption that the public defender, and the promise made in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), is working. But what does this acquittal rate tell us about the public defender office? Sadly, the comparison does not tell us much. The effectiveness of a public defender can only be truly determined by using a comparison to its counterpart in the adversarial system, the prosecution. In order for our public defender office to be deemed adequate or effective, it must be found to parity the prosecution, not to be an equivalent, or better than privately obtained counsel. This research set out to determine the parity that exists between the public defender0́9s office and district attorney's office. It attempts to do so in a way that accounted for the cooperative nature of the work these two sides do, by comparing them as two distinct agencies, rather than simply using case outcome analysis, which has been the standard for the small amount of research that exists on this topic. The population used for this study consists of all of the public defenders and district attorneys employed in the County of Sacramento, California. This was a total of 240 attorneys, with 160 working for the district attorney, and 80 working for the public defender. The research concludes that as far as education and experience are concerned the public defender and prosecution are very similar, with some slight advantages going to the public defender. While this does not mean the public defender is equally situated with the prosecutor as far as resources, funding, and public perception, they are equal when looking at the variables of education and experience.
Eighty to ninety percent of the nation's urban criminal defendants are defended in court by public defenders. Thus, understanding how these defender programs operate, their effectiveness and the quality of professional life for these beleaguered and often underpaid attorneys, is a critical factor in improving local criminal justice systems. What is it like to practice law in such an inhospitable environment, where clients often revile their counsel and prosecutors hold defenders in contempt? How does a public defender maintain self-esteem and dignity? What are the particular problems and obstacles of public defender offices? And how might such departments overcome these obstacles so that defendants and defenders, as well as the public, benefit? In vivid prose, and with vignettes and quotes from the lawyers themselves, Wice answers these questions and paints a truer picture of the state of public defenders offices than most of us have from television and the media. Through a colorful profile of a reform-minded public defender's office Newark, N.J., one of the nation's most crime-ridden smaller cities, Wice examines the public defender system and shows how even the smallest reforms, especially those that address quality of life and work for public defenders, can make a big difference. Comparing the smaller defender's office to larger ones in such cities as New York and Chicago, which have not instituted significant reforms, the author illustrates the successes that can be found when change is implemented. Flaws remain, but with improved services and work environments, this important component of the overburdened criminal justice system can function more effectively, creating a system that benefits lawyers, defendants, and the community alike.
Every day, in courtrooms around the United States, thousands of criminal defendants are represented by public defenders--lawyers provided by the government for those who cannot afford private counsel. Though often taken for granted, the modern American public defender has a surprisingly contentious history--one that offers insights not only about the "carceral state," but also about the contours and compromises of twentieth-century liberalism. First gaining appeal amidst the Progressive Era fervor for court reform, the public defender idea was swiftly quashed by elite corporate lawyers who believed the legal profession should remain independent from the state. Public defenders took hold in some localities but not yet as a nationwide standard. By the 1960s, views had shifted. Gideon v. Wainwright enshrined the right to counsel into law and the legal profession mobilized to expand the ranks of public defenders nationwide. Yet within a few years, lawyers had already diagnosed a "crisis" of underfunded, overworked defenders providing inadequate representation--a crisis that persists today. This book shows how these conditions, often attributed to recent fiscal emergencies, have deep roots, and it chronicles the intertwined histories of constitutional doctrine, big philanthropy, professional in-fighting, and Cold War culture that made public defenders ubiquitous but embattled figures in American courtrooms.
Michael Scott Weiss is currently Assistant Professor of Law and Justice Studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.
In this book, Erik Luna and Marianne Wade examine the considerable powers of the American prosecutor and look abroad in order to learn valuable lessons from a transnational examination of prosecutorial authority. They explore parallels and distinctions in the processes available to and decisions made by prosecutors in the United States and Europe. Through the varied topics covered by the contributors on both sides of the Atlantic, they demonstrate how the enhanced role of the prosecutor represents a crossroads for criminal justice with weighty legal and socio-economic consequences.
This is the first volume that directly compares the practices of adversarial and inquisitorial systems of law from a psychological perspective. It aims at understanding why American and European continental systems differ so much, while both systems entertain much support in their communities. The book is written for advanced audiences in psychology and law.
Looks at how prosecution of offenders is evolving in the contemporary legal milieu.
Our adversarial legal system is used to evade the truth and makes winning the paramount goal. Here, a law veteran proposes we shift to an inquisitorial system seeking the truth, and recommends changes to evidentiary rules that confuse law enforcement and juries alike.