Public Defenders in a Homicide Division: The Courtroom Workgroup, Plea Bargaining, Career Motivations, Views on the Causes of Crime, Perceptions of Prosecutors’ Views of Crime, and Dealing with Occupational Stress in Their Daily Lives
This study examines the courtroom workgroup, focusing on the plea-bargaining process for public defenders and their relationships with prosecutors in their？courtroom workgroup. Using grounded theory method, this research examines semi-structured interviews of public defenders (N = 6) in the homicide division of a large East Coast American city. Qualitative analysis of the interviews？reveals themes of disconnect in this jurisdiction’s courtroom workgroup.？Public defenders of this jurisdiction perceive a stark contrast between their？views on the causes of crime when compared to their perception of prosecutor’s？views. Results further show that there is limited constructive communication between the defense and prosecuting attorneys in this courtroom workgroup.？Interviews also revealed that the public defenders mostly saw structural societal issues as the causes of crime, whereas their perception of prosecutor’s views on crime was？starkly different. A symbolic interactionist perspective of these results suggests that workgroup disconnect between the public defenders and prosecutors of this jurisdiction inhibits the plea bargain process, thus enhancing occupational stress and frustrations for the public defenders, who dealt with that stress in many unique ways in each of their personal lives.
References
[1]
Alkon, C. (2016). Plea Bargain Negotiations: Defining Competence beyond Lafler and Frye. American Criminal Law Review, 53, 377.
[2]
Bacak, V., Lageson, S. E., & Powell, K. (2020). “Fighting the Good Fight”: Why Do Public Defenders Remain on the Job? Criminal Justice Policy Review, 31, 939-961.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403419862317
[3]
Baxter, H. (2012). Too Many Clients, Too Little Time: How States Are Forcing Public Defenders to Violate Their Ethical Obligations. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 25, 91.
https://doi.org/10.1525/fsr.2012.25.2.91
[4]
Bellin, J. (2019). The Power of Prosecutors. NYU Law Review, 94, 171.
[5]
Capers, I. B. (2019). Against Prosecutors. Cornell Law Review, 105, 1561.
[6]
Carroll, J. E. (2021). If Only I Had Known: The Challenges of Representation. Fordham Law Review, 89, 2447. https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol89/iss6/5
[7]
Davies, A. L. B., & Worden, A. P. (2017). Local Governance and Redistributive Policy: Explaining Local Funding for Public Defense. Law & Society Review, 51, 313-345.
https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12266
[8]
Dotson, E., Brody, D. C., & Lu, R. (2020). An Exploratory Study of Occupational and Secondary Traumatic Stress among a Mid-Sized Public Defenders’ Office. Journal of Criminal Justice and Law, 4, 22-39.
[9]
Eisenstein, J., Flemming, R. B., & Nardulli, P. F. (1988). The Contours of Justice: Communities and Their Courts. Little, Brown.
[10]
Field, C., Cherukuri, S., Kimuna, S., & Berg, D. (2017). Women Accused of Homicide: The Impact of Race, Relationship to Victim, and Prior Physical Abuse. Advances in Applied Sociology, 7, 81-304. https://doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2017.78018
[11]
Galanter, M. (2004). The Vanishing Trial: An Examination of Trials and Related Matters in Federal and State Courts. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 1, 459-570.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-1461.2004.00014.x
[12]
Gilchrist, G. M. (2011). Plea Bargains, Convictions and Legitimacy. The American Criminal Law Review, 48, 143-183. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1666856
[13]
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Aldine De Gruyter.
[14]
Goffman, E. (1973). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. The Overlook Press.
[15]
Gomme, I. M., & Hall, M. P. (1995). Prosecutors at Work: Role Overload and Strain. Journal of Criminal Justice, 15, 191-200.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2352(95)00006-C
[16]
Haynes, S. H., Ruback, B., & Cusick, G. R. (2010). Courtroom Workgroups and Sentencing: The Effects of Similarity, Proximity, and Stability. Crime and Delinquency, 56, 126-161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128707313787
[17]
Jaffe, S. (2018). “It’s Not You, It’s Your Caseload”: Using Cronic to Solve Indigent Defense Underfunding. Michigan Law Review, 116, 1465-1484.
https://doi.org/10.36644/mlr.116.8.its.not
[18]
Jahangeer, K. (2013). Gideon’s Army: HBO Documentary Films, 96 Minutes; Directed by Dawn Porter. Public Laws, 21, 12.
[19]
Langton, L., & Farole, D. J. (2009). Public Defender Offices, 2007—Statistical Tables. Bureau of Justice Statistics Report NCJ-228538, U.S. Department of Justice.
[20]
Leonard, M.-J., Vasiliadis, H.-M., Leclerc, M.-è., & Brunet, A. (2021). Traumatic Stress in Canadian Lawyers: A Longitudinal Study. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001177
[21]
Levin, A. P., & Greisberg, S. (2003). Vicarious Trauma in Attorneys. Pace Law Review, 24, 245.
[22]
Levin, A., Besser, A., Albert, L., Smith, D., & Neria, Y. (2012). The Effect of Attorneys’ Work with Trauma-Exposed Clients on PTSD Symptoms, Depression, and Functional Impairment: A Cross-Lagged Longitudinal Study. Law and Human Behavior, 36, 538.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0093993
[23]
Lynch, D. R. (1997). The Nature of Occupational Stress among Public Defenders. Justice System Journal, 19, 17-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/23277556.1997.10871248
[24]
Metcalfe, C. (2016). The Role of Courtroom Workgroups in Felony Case Dispositions: An Analysis of Workgroup Familiarity and Similarity. Law and Society Review, 50, 637-673. https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12217
[25]
Ogletree, C. J. (1995). An Essay on the New Public Defender for the 21st Century. Law and Contemporary Problems, 58, 81-93. https://doi.org/10.2307/1192169
[26]
Tor, A., Gazal-Ayal, O., & Garcia, S. M. (2010). Fairness and Willingness to Accept Plea Bargain Offers. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 7, 97-116.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-1461.2009.01171.x
[27]
Vrklevski, L., & Franklin, J. (2008). Vicarious Trauma: The Impact on Solicitors of Exposure to Traumatic Material. Traumatology, 14, 106-118.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1534765607309961
[28]
Wood, L. C., Goyette, D. T., & Burkhart, G. T. (2016). Meet-and-Plead: The Inevitable Consequence of Crushing Defender Workloads. Litigation, 42, 20-26.
