Published On: May 01,2012
A recent US Study canvassed Court archives and records for a eleven (11) year period in a major US Study to determine the effectiveness of criminal defence counsel. A number of interesting results were yielded by the study. The RAND study found that only a small percentage of accused persons charged with homicide cases were retained by private defence counsel while the balance were either public defenders or court appointed defence lawyers. The study ultimately determined that the public defenders markedly provided more effective representation when juxtaposed to the results of private lawyers were paid insufficient or inadequate fees to ensure that a fulsome and well prepare defence was mounted. For a copy of the study: How Much Difference Does the Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes by James Anderson and Paul Heaton, December 2011 Rand Corporation, please see: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2011/RAND_WR870.pdf