Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases

摘要

Almost all persons charged with a felony in Federal and large State courts wererepresented by counsel, either hired or appointed. But over a third of persons charged with a misdemeanor in cases terminated in Federal court represented themselves (pro se) in court proceedings prior to conviction, as did almost a third of those in local jails. Indigent defense involves the use of the publicly financed counsel to represent criminal defendants who are unable to afford private counsel. At the end of their case approximately 66% of felony Federal defendants and 82% of felony defendants in large State courts were represented by public defenders or assigned counsel. In both Federal and large State courts, conviction rates were the same for defendants represented by publicly financed and private attorneys. Approximately 9 in 10 Federal defendants and 3 in 4 State defendants in the 75 largest counties were found guilty, regardless of type of attorney.