What different types of defense attorneys exist? Is a public or private attorney more effective?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Defense attorneys might include public defenders who are assigned to indigent defendants who cannot afford their own counsel. The public defender is a full-time or part-time attorney who is part of a statewide agency, county government, the judiciary, or an independent nonprofit organization or other institution. Other forms of defense attorneys for indigent defendants include assigned counsel, where an appointment is made from a list of private bar members, and contract systems, where nonsalaried private attorneys, bar associations, law firms, or nonprofit corporations contract with a funding source to provide court-appointed representation. Defendants can also hire private attorneys who specialize in criminal practice. Some of these defense attorneys are nationally known and represent clients in high-profile cases, but most accept many cases for small fees. They may work in small law firms or work alone. There are some advantages to private counsel, but the differences might not be as large as it would seem. For example, conviction rates for indigent defendants and for those who hire their own lawyers are about the same in federal and state courts. Of those found guilty, those represented by publicly financed attorneys are incarcerated at a higher rate than defendants who have private attorneys. Despite this, sentence lengths for defendants with publicly financed attorneys are shorter than those who have hired counsel. The average sentence length for defendants with publicly financed attorneys in federal district court is just under five years, and in large state courts, it is an average of two and a half years. For private attorneys, sentences are just over five years in federal district court and three years in large state courts.