Is It Legal Representation or Clients? : An Empirical Testing of Clients’ Performance and Their Legal Representation in Tulsa County Drug and DUI Programs

The importance of legal representation to a criminal defendant is widely accepted, but the quality of government-provided counsels (particularly public defenders) has continuously been questioned. Based on data from Tulsa County DUI and Drug programs in Oklahoma, the authors tested the impact of leg...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:  
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Bin Liang 1784-1847 (Autor)
Otros Autores: Long, Michael A. ; Brame, Wendy
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2012
En: American journal of criminal justice
Año: 2012, Volumen: 37, Número: 4, Páginas: 544-561
Acceso en línea: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Journals Online & Print:
Gargar...
Verificar disponibilidad: HBZ Gateway
Palabras clave:
Descripción
Sumario:The importance of legal representation to a criminal defendant is widely accepted, but the quality of government-provided counsels (particularly public defenders) has continuously been questioned. Based on data from Tulsa County DUI and Drug programs in Oklahoma, the authors tested the impact of legal representation (public defender versus private counsel) on clients’ performance in program, measured by plea terms and program outcome. Initial bivariate analyses showed disparate effect of legal representation, as clients represented by private counsels received better plea terms and fared better in program outcome. This effect, however, disappeared once other variables were controlled. Instead, factors closely related to the clients themselves (e.g., demographic features and their criminal behaviors) significantly impacted their program performance.
ISSN:1936-1351
DOI:10.1007/s12103-011-9144-0