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Providing Early Legal Counsel Reduces Jail Time and Improves Case Outcomes

POLICY BRIEF: Providing Early Legal Counsel Reduces Jail Time and Improves Case Outcomes PDF

WORKING PAPER: The Effect of Pre-Arraignment Legal Representation on Criminal Case Outcomes

PRESS RELEASE: New Research: Meeting with a Lawyer Shortly After Arrest Leads to Less Jail Time and Better Case Outcomes

WEBINAR PRESENTATION: Research findings on the Santa Clara County PARR Program

In January 2020, the County of Santa Clara Public Defender’s Office launched a pilot of a new program, Pre-Arraignment Representation and Review (PARR), to provide faster access to legal representation for low-income people who would otherwise have to wait until their arraignment to meet with a public defender.

During the pilot, PARR was only offered on one (rotating) day per week, which allowed the researchers to compare outcomes for PARR participants to a control group of similarly situated individuals who did not participate. This policy brief and working paper show that people who participated in the pilot of PARR in early 2020 had dramatically better outcomes than similarly situated people who did not have the opportunity to participate.

Select media coverage
Davis Vanguard: Early Intervention by Public Defenders Offers Improved Outcomes for Clients, California Policy Lab Study Found (June 14, 2023)
CalMatters: California defendants are more likely to go free when they meet lawyers early (June 9, 2023)
Davis Vanguard: Meeting with a Lawyer Shortly after Arrest Improves Case Outcomes (June 7, 2023)

Key Research Findings

1. PARR Participants spent less time in jail. The average person who received PARR services as a result of being booked on a PARR day spent 6 total days in jail (pre- and post-trial), whereas comparable people booked on non-PARR days spent 29 total days in jail.

FIGURE 1: PARR Participants spent 23 fewer days in jail, on average

Source: Authors’ calculations using data from Santa Clara County’s Case Management System.
Note: Bars report the mean number of days elapsed between booking and final release from detention among treated-complier (“treated”) and control-complier (“control”) individuals.

 

2. PARR Participants experienced better case outcomes. Receiving PARR services reduced the probability that an individual was convicted by 27 percentage points, or about 75% relative to comparable people whom PARR did not serve. Likewise, PARR participants were 132% — or 36 percentage points — more likely to see their cases dismissed by the prosecution than non-PARR participants

Figure 2: PARR Participants had a 27 percentage point lower likelihood of being convicted and a 36 percentage point higher likelihood of having their case dismissed 

Source: Authors’ calculations using data from Santa Clara County’s Case Management System.
Note: p < 0.05 for both bars. Each bar reports an estimate from a separate regression specification of the causal effect of PARR on the probability of conviction and case dismissal. Among similar individuals booked on non-PARR days, 36% were convicted, while 27% saw their cases dismissed.

 

Suggested citation: Fischer, B., Lacoe, J., Raphael, S. (2023). Providing Early Legal Counsel Reduces Jail Time and Improves Case Outcomes. California Policy Lab. https://www.capolicylab.org/providing-early-legal-counsel-reduces-jail-time-and-improves-case-outcomes/



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