Toward an understanding of public defender motivations

This is a study of public defender motivations. It does not ask merely why someone must be a public defender. Rather, it directly asks public defenders a much more personal question: “Why must that someone be you?” Qualitative, semi-structured interviews of 48 public defenders from three different offices revealed a diverse array of motivations, each of which might be categorized as either “pragmatic” or “political.” Pragmatic motivations involve the occupational advantages indigent defense work provides for the defenders themselves, including the availability of trial work, the ability to practice criminal law, an escape from the burdens of private practice and the lifestyle opportunities for government lawyers. Such motivations are inherently apolitical and are in general likely to drive both prosecutors and public defenders. The political motivations of public defenders, on the other hand, represent a distinctively ideological worldview that defenders are unlikely to share with prosecutors; they often encompass cynical perspectives about the social structure in general and the criminal justice system in particular. Political motivations come in several varieties. Constitutional motivations reflect the desire to deliver the legal protections enshrined in the Constitution and to thereby uphold the fairness of the criminal process. Altruistic motivations involve helping the poor and the vulnerable to overcome both legal and personal problems. A series of critical motivations reveal a broadly anti-authoritarian mindset and a desire to “fight the system.” In particular, defenders are driven by anti-police motivations, anti-prosecutor motivations, anti-judge motivations and anti-corrections motivations: as a general matter, these attorneys reveal a great deal of antipathy toward both criminal justice actors and institutions, the intentions and behavior of which they often view as unscrupulous and unjust. In the end, this study suggests that despite such professional obstacles as mediocre salaries, heavy caseloads, unpleasant work environments, uncooperative clients, and the moral stigma associated with representing the indigent, public defenders are passionately committed to their work.