“Fighting the Good Fight”: Why Do Public Defenders Remain on the Job?

• Published date: 01 July 2020
• Date: 01 July 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0887403419862317
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403419862317

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2020, Vol. 31(6) 939 –961

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0887403419862317

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Article

“Fighting the Good Fight”:

Why Do Public Defenders

Remain on the Job?

Valerio Baćak1, Sarah E. Lageson1,

and Kathleen Powell1

Abstract

In this article, we ask why public defenders remain on the job despite a number

of unique and testing work-related challenges. To answer this question, we analyze

original data collected through 87 semistructured interviews with public defenders

from government, nonprofit, and appointed counsel systems across the United

States. Participants explicated a set of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations salient

to their decision to remain in public defense: interacting with clients, defending

the Constitution, fighting social inequality, pursuing personal values, appreciating

camaraderie with colleagues, and earning public sector benefits. We discuss how our

findings relate to prior research, identify directions for future studies, and tentatively

engage policy implications.

Keywords

public defenders, work motivations, indigent defense

Introduction

A fair criminal justice system cannot exist without public defenders, the attorneys

charged with providing legal defense for individuals accused of breaking the law who

cannot afford their own attorney. Yet they receive limited material and political sup-

port. Public defenders tend to earn less than their peers in private law firms, often

manage very high caseloads, and have limited access to important resources, such as

1Rutgers University–Newark, NJ, USA

Corresponding Author:

Valerio Baćak, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University–Newark, 123 Washington Street, Newark,

NJ 07102-3094, USA.

Email: valerio.bacak@rutgers.edu

862317CJPXXX10.1177/0887403419862317Criminal Justice Policy ReviewBaćak et al.

research-article2019

940 Criminal Justice Policy Review 31(6)

investigators, translators, and social workers (Farole & Langton, 2010). Even public

defenders with adequate salaries and sufficient resources infrequently have little time

to prepare for court appearances and trials. Together, these factors can make the work

of public defenders especially challenging. For many, remaining on the job can be a

difficult choice—despite the value they see in their role as guardians of justice in what

is often considered an unjust legal system.

The challenges that public defenders face constitute only half of the story, as many

choose to become—and remain—public defenders. Despite adversities, being a public

defender entails meaningful work that helps disadvantaged populations, fosters col-

laboration with like-minded colleagues, and can provide relatively generous public

sector benefits. These aspects of the profession constitute motivators for initial entry

into public defense, but it is less clear how they affect career longevity. Evidence sug-

gests the importance of attorneys’ professional experience for the delivery of justice.

Studies of prosecutors indicate that tenure is positively associated with several output

metrics, including conviction rates and sentence lengths (Boylan, 2004). Similarly,

public defenders’ experience levels can benefit clients in the form of improved plea

bargaining and reduced time in prison (Abrams & Yoon, 2007; Anderson & Heaton,

2012).

In light of the findings from the studies that point to tenure as vital for the quality

of legal representation, in this article we examine why public defenders remain on the

job. We draw on original semistructured interviews with 87 public defenders across

the United States. The sample is mostly comprised of salaried government defenders,

as well as nonprofit and contract attorneys. Although participants expressed chal-

lenges associated with their work, we focus on the factors that drive their decision to

remain on the job. To frame our analysis of why public defenders remain in this pro-

fession, we build on the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in

social psychology. We start by laying out the usual motives for why people become

attorneys—and public defenders—in the first place.

Background

Why Become a Public Defender?

Research on law students and lawyers reveals several co-occurring motivations for

entering the legal profession, such as desires for occupational and social prestige,

intellectual stimulation, and material benefits. Altruistic desires—such as helping oth-

ers and improving society—are less commonly expressed as the prime motivations for

lawyering (Daicoff, 1996).

Within these general motives, there are unique factors that shape the pursuit of

work in public defense, a specialization often perceived as less prestigious and legiti-

mate by a public skeptical of the value of defending potentially guilty people (Babcock,

1983; Laumann & Heinz, 1977). Previous research and legal commentary suggest

several rationales for becoming a public defender, including preserving the adversarial

process, protecting civil liberties, participating in the search for truth, working toward