Introduction to Special Issue: New Developments in Public Defense Research

• Author: Andrew L. B. Davies,Janet Moore
• Date: 01 July 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0887403420921228
• Published date: 01 July 2020
• Subject Matter: Introduction

https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403420921228

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2020, Vol. 31(6) 791 –799

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0887403420921228

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Introduction

Introduction to Special Issue:

New Developments in Public

Defense Research

Janet Moore1 and Andrew L. B. Davies2

Abstract

This special issue focuses on interdisciplinary research in public defense. Seven papers

represent a diverse group of scholars in an understudied field. Two overarching

themes emerge. The first theme, “System Interventions: Evaluating Programs and

Identifying Opportunities,” includes three studies of innovative policies and practices.

Two evaluate new resource injections that support, respectively, social work-initiated

holistic defense and counsel at first appearance. The third examines state sentencing

schemes to identify opportunities for emphasizing defendant assets instead of

deficits. The second theme, “Understanding Decision Makers,” includes four papers

drawing on qualitative data regarding juvenile resentencing and reentry, defendant

views of attorney–client communication, defender motivations for remaining in the

profession, and manager perspectives on likely effects of caseload reductions. As a

collection, these papers bridge gaps between theory and practice, offer new insight

into public defense as a critical component of criminal legal systems, and identify new

avenues for future research.

Keywords

public defense, defense attorneys, theory development, research and policy, courts,

sentencing

The Indigent Defense Research Association (IDRA) is delighted to collaborate with

Criminal Justice Policy Review (CJPR) on this special issue focused on social science

research in public defense.1 Compared with other topics in criminal justice, public

defense is underrepresented as a research subject in terms both of the volume of

1University of Cincinnati, OH, USA

2Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Janet Moore, College of Law, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 210040, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.

Email: moore2jt@ucmail.uc.edu

921228CJPXXX10.1177/0887403420921228Criminal Justice Policy ReviewMoore and Davies

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