The Role of Race in the Legal Representation of Low-Income Defendants

Little is known about the role of race in the defense of low-income defendants by court-appointed attorneys. Exploiting the quasirandom assignment of court-appointed attorneys to cases, we test whether attorneys secure better deals for same-race defendants. Results indicate that while Black and White attorneys are similarly effective at representing White defendants, Black defendants who are represented by White rather than Black attorneys are 14–16 percent more likely to have their charges dismissed and 15–26 percent less likely to be incarcerated. Moreover, we find no evidence that having a different-race attorney increases the likelihood of reoffending in the future. (JEL H76, J15, K14, K42)