Right to counsel? A mixed‐methods evaluation of the St. Louis County initial appearance program

• Published date: 01 May 2024
• Author: Lauren A. Morgan,Faraneh Shamserad,Beth M. Huebner
• Date: 01 May 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12660

DOI: ./- .

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Right to counsel? A mixed-methods evaluation

of the St. Louis County initial appearance

program

Lauren A. Morgan1Faraneh Shamserad1Beth M. Huebner2

Department of Criminology and

Criminal Justice, University of

Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri,

USA

School of Criminology and Criminal

Justice, Arizona State University, Tempe,

Arizona, USA

Correspondence

Lauren A. Morgan, Department of

Criminology and Criminal Justice,

University of Missouri–St. Louis,

University Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 

Office , USA.

Email: l.morgan@mail.umsl.edu

Funding information

John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur

Foundation, Grant/AwardNumber:

G--

Abstract

Research summary: Legal representation is a criti-

cal right in the criminal legal process, yet it is unclear

when representation is guaranteed. Further, manyindi-

viduals find obtaining legal representation difficult and

expensive. The current study is an evaluation of an

initial appearance program implemented in St. Louis

County, Missouri. This mixed-methods study focuses

on understanding if and how providing counsel at ini-

tial appearance affects the bond amount, release type,

and length of pretrial detention. Data from official court

records and interviews with project staff and stakehold-

ers suggest that early,free representation at arraignment

can facilitate release on recognizance and lowered bail

amounts. Results from a series of interaction models

suggest that this type of programming may be able to

help reduce some racial disparities. Our thematic anal-

ysis indicates that courtroom stakeholders see value in

the program for the defendants, the criminal process,

and the courtroom workgroup dynamics during pretrial

stages.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits

use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or

adaptations are made.

©  The Authors. Criminology & Public Policypublished by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Criminology.

Criminology & Public Policy. ;:–. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/capp 431

432 MORGAN  .

Policy implications: The results reflect the need for

early representation in the legal process. Representation

can potentially reduce some of the racial and ethnic dis-

parities in case processing, which are relatively stark and

can lead to downstream effects like a greater likelihood

of recidivism and conviction. Currently, most funding

for public defenders is inequitable to that of the pros-

ecutor’s office, and this work speaks to the necessity

of providing representation that begins with the ini-

tial appearance and continues throughout the life of

the case. This work also highlights how outside fund-

ing can be used to support more equitable and fair case

processing in the criminal legal system.

KEYWORDS

criminal justice, first appearance, legal representation, racial

disparities, reform

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution holds that defendants have a right to assistance at

all “critical stages” of criminal proceedings, and the th Amendment ensures equal protection

and due process. Despite these requirements, it is unclear when the right to counsel begins in

the legal process. Further, most jurisdictions do not automatically provide counsel to defendants

who are indigent during the initial stages of the criminal process, when pretrial release is deter-

mined (Gross, ;Heatonetal.,). The need for representationis large, given that more than

half of individuals charged with a felony in state courts, and eight of  persons in the largest

county courts, used the services of a public defender (Harlow, ). Yet, in most states, like

Missouri, public defenders do not have adequate time to dedicate to representation at all phases

of adjudication, given staffing shortages (ACLU, ).

The initial appearance, which must occur within  business hours of the arrest, is when

an individual is advised of the charges, although there is substantial variation across states in

policy and practice (Gross, ; Mrozinski & Buetow, ). In some jurisdictions, the initial

appearance, otherwise known as the arraignment, is combined with the bond hearing, where the

defendant is subjected to a pretrial release decision or assigned a monetary bail amount. In other

jurisdictions, the bond hearing occurs a few days to weeks after the arraignment.

Advocates argue that these critical decisions around pretrial detention and bond settingrequire

legal representation and haveenormous consequences for individuals and the community ’ssafety

(Gerstein, ; Gross, ; Mrozinski & Buetow, ), particularly people of color or individ-

uals without the economic means to secure legal representation. Researchers have found that

pretrial detention can lead to increases in the likelihood of guilty pleas (Petersen, ), eventual

recidivism (Loeffler & Nagin, ; Lowenkamp et al., ), and stress on family and long-term

economic outcomes (Comfort, ). Pretrial detention disproportionately encourages Black per-

sons to plead guilty and accept longer sentences of incarceration, which can havelong-term effects

(Kirk & Wakefield, ; Kutateladze et al., ; Wooldredge et al., ). Pretrial detention