Different Ways of Losing
Public Defenders (and Private Counsel) at the Supreme Court of Argentina
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4084148 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Juan F González-Bertomeu, Juan F González‐bertomeu (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 354-390 |
| Publication date | 2020-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Society Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lasr.12473 |
| OpenAlex | W3020853125 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 10 |
Though most countries have established public defense systems to represent indigent defendants, this is far from implying their offices are in good shape. Indeed, significant variation likely exists in the systems' effectiveness, across societies and at the subnational level. Defense agencies' performance likely depends on their configuration, including their funding, their internal arrangements, and their selection and retention mechanisms. Centered on public defense in Argentina, this article compares the performance of public and retained counsel at the country's Supreme Court. Public defenders' offices received a boost in the last two decades, and are institutionally well positioned to square off against prosecutors, putting them at least on par with the averaged retained counsel. Using a fresh dataset of around 3000 appeal decisions from 2008 to 2013, the study largely tests representational capabilities by looking at whether counsel meets briefs' formal requirements, a subset of decisions particularly valuable to reduce potential biases. It finds that formal dismissals are significantly less frequent when a public defender is named in an appeal, particularly when a federal defender is involved. It also discusses and tests alternative mechanisms. The article's findings illuminate discussions of support structures for litigation, criminal justice reform, and criminal defendants' rights
Appeal · Criminal justice · Economic Justice · Political science · Public defender · Right to counsel · Supreme court · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems
Testing Representational Advantage in the Argentine Supreme Court
Sampling in Interview-Based Qualitative Research
The effectiveness of public defenders in four Florida counties
Private counsels and public defenders
Do you get what you pay for? Type of counsel and its effect on criminal court outcomes
Experienced Advocates and Litigation Outcomes
Institutionalisation, Reform and Independence of the Public Defender’s Office in Brazil
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |