ABSTRACT
Empirical research on extra-legal disparities in criminal case outcomes has recently incorporated a greater focus on the role of prosecutors (relative to judges) in shaping these disparities. To encourage greater focus on defense attorneys in related empirical research, this chapter addresses three questions regarding the role of defense attorneys in shaping extra-legal disparities in case processing and outcomes. First, why is empirical research on defense attorneys less popular relative to research on prosecutors. Second, what observations can be identified in the courts literature that suggest defense attorneys might have a greater role in disparate outcomes than a focus on prosecutors would convey. Finally, how might the observations identified for question 2 inform a framework for understanding defense attorneys' influences on these decisions. Towards the end of advancing related frameworks and as encouragement for further research, the chapter offers an exploratory bi-level analysis of guilty pleas and charge reductions in a large urban court, with defendants nested within defense attorneys.
