title: Unnoticed, Untapped, and Underappreciated: Clients' Perceptions of their Public Defenders.
abstract: The challenge of providing high-quality public defense services continues to be a concern at federal, state, and local levels. Some scholars have alluded to a potential solution in client-centered representation, but research in this area is sparse at best. Such a lack of understanding leaves in its place speculation, particularly as to the potential importance of client perceptions in shaping broader system legitimacy. To fill this gap and create an empirical platform for future research, an exploratory pilot study was launched with the Hamilton County, Ohio Public Defender's Office, which used mixed methodologies to assess client attitudes toward public defenders as a potential resource for aiding the improvement of indigent representation. Findings from this pilot study suggest that there are five factors a public defense attorney should address that may prove to be very important in obtaining client satisfaction and cooperation: engaging the client for input, listening to the client, examining the prosecutor's evidence, focusing on the client's case during meetings, and informing the client of potential consequences. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Law, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: College of Law, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.
authors.forename: Wesley
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.affiliation: Division of Governmental Studies and Services, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaffney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D033241:Lawyers; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009820:Ohio; D017150:Public Sector; D036301:Qualitative Research; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult