Alternative Models for Defending the Indigent in Virginia Final Report

The public defender jurisdictions were those four in which the State has been conducting experimental programs. The assigned counsel jurisdictions were those selected as comparison sites, with the eight sites matched by demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal justice profiles. The quality of services was measured by examining (1) case outcomes, such as the length and severity of the sentences imposed; (2) case processing issues, such as the length of time that elapses before the case is completed; and (3) the attitudes of judges, prosecutors, and counsel involved in indigent defense. The absolute and relative costs of the defense services were also compared. The qualitative data tended to underscore the prevailing notions about the two systems. Assigned counsel attorneys devoted more individual attention to their clients but must balance that obligation against their potentially more lucrative private clients. Public defenders are more experienced in criminal procedures but are pressured to expedite their cases through plea bargaining rather than a trial because of their caseload demands. These differences should not be considered as proof of the value of one system over another, however. There was no difference between the systems regarding dispositions or the sentences given. The appendixes contain study data and the interview schedule, and 23 bibliographic listings are provided.