As a layperson, watching the legal proceedings against the 45th president unfold feels dizzying — an historically unprecedented process in which bizarre facts amass like boxes of secret documents in a gilded bathroom.
As a criminal defense attorney and longtime public defender, though, my focus is different: I represented thousands of people in court, and mostly what I reflect on as I read the news is how incredibly challenging Donald Trump would be as a client.
No, not because of the groundbreaking nature of this case, the strength and detail of the facts already aired by the prosecution, or the wall-to-wall press coverage. I mean that, as a lawyer, one of the hardest things to manage while trying to successfully defend your fellow American is a client who does not reliably follow advice, especially advice about when to keep mum. Which is why, it seems, lawyers keep quitting on former President Trump, having to flip on him, and declining to take his case.
All of this has led to hand-wringing repeated in the press that Trump “may have to have a public defender” — after all, we are the only kind of lawyers who can handle any type of case or client, no matter how challenging.
We can because we have to: Public defenders are automatically assigned to the vast majority (about 80%) of criminal cases, taking on representation of anyone who doesn’t have the means to pay for counsel, which is almost everyone, because our country has constructed a criminal legal apparatus that is almost entirely aimed at poor people.
The thing that the media doesn’t understand — and that most Americans aren’t told — is that public defenders are, by and large, amazing lawyers. Trump would be incredibly lucky to be represented by a public defender in his case. Studies have found again and again that public defenders get great results.
A survey of over 3,000 murder cases in Philadelphia, for example, found that having a public defender reduced the chance of being found guilty by almost 20%. Even for those convicted, the folks with public defenders had a 62% lower chance of ending up with a life sentence. A study on national felony cases found that people with public defenders were less likely to be convicted or incarcerated than those with court-appointed private attorneys, and achieved results that were on par with people who could afford to pay for private counsel.
Turning to the federal system, where the case against Trump will be heard, a study found that 46,167 federal criminal cases from 51 districts showed that public defenders achieved significantly lower conviction rates and sentence lengths than appointed private attorneys.
And it’s not just about convictions and sentences. Public defenders have been found to be more effective at getting people home to their families pretrial as well.
We do better because we are creatures and experts of the criminal courthouse in our jurisdiction. We’re there every day — we are specialists. And perhaps most importantly, we are largely there because we care passionately about equitable access to justice (we certainly aren’t there for the pay or the perks).
Yet, again and again, public defenders are notoriously devalued and made punching bags. The undervaluing of public defenders may be simply a rhetorical misstep in the case of Trump. But at a national scale, it’s actually harming our public health, safety, and economic mobility, and is eroding our Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
When properly resourced, public defenders have the power to problem-solve in ways that impact all of us. They are upstream in the legal system, assigned automatically to folks in crisis. And, unlike any other legal system professional, they have the power (and confidentiality) to learn what’s really going on in their clients’ lives and to help solve problems collaboratively. They can address the underlying drivers of crime, help folks get access to housing and health care, even spur economic mobility and help reunify families separated by our legal system.
In a nation that deals with almost all social ills through criminal court instead of caregiving, public defenders are, in many cases, the best chance many of our neighbors have at accessing help.
Of course, Trump’s needs in a legal team are very different than those of your average accused person. It is relatively rare that our criminal legal system goes after the powerful rather than the historically disempowered, and the community-protecting, future-securing power of well-resourced public defense may not be the core capabilities relevant to the Trump case. But public defenders are also constitutional warriors, ready to stand up in court and fight for the protections afforded every American, regardless of the particulars of their individual case.
As a nation, our rights are tied together. The abrogation of any individual’s rights — yes, even Trump’s — can cascade and erode the protections guaranteed to all of us by our founding document.
Wherever you are right now reading this article, somewhere there is a public defender whose courtroom fight is also your fight. It’s time to recognize the value of these crucial community champions, resource their work, and give them what they need to stand ready to protect any of us in our moment of need— yes, even Trump.