Does your attorney matter? A look at the effectiveness of indigent defense in county-by-county systems — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Does your attorney matter? A look at the effectiveness of indigent defense in county-by-county systems

Name: Brittney Frederick
Major: Criminal Justice (Pre-Law)
Hometown: Plainfield, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis
Funding: N/A

Abstract

Does your attorney matter? A look at the effectiveness of indigent defense in county-by-county systems.

In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled on Gideon v. Wainwright, holding that under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, states are required to provide counsel to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own. As a result, public defenders were created, providing low-income defendants with representation in criminal matters. Today, the criminal justice system is flooded with criminal cases, causing public defenders to deal with a heavy caseload and little pay. This research looks at whether public defenders are as effective as court-appointed/contract attorneys and private counsel based on case outcomes, plea bargains, prison time and recidivism rates specifically in states that use county-by-county indigent defense systems.