Criminal Law Review

An interesting study was reported in the New York Times discussing the difference between being represented by a public defender as opposed to being represented by a retained attorney in a criminal case. The study was conducted by two economists for Emory University. The study concluded that in serious cases “the average sentence for clients of public defenders was almost THREE YEARS longer than the average for clients of private attorneys.” Moreover, when all cases were considered, the average sentence for clients of public defenders was almost FIVE YEARS longer than the average for clients of private attorneys.

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