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I don't know about studies, but San Francisco has had an elected public defender's office since 1921. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Public_Def
by wahern 5y ago
I don't know about studies, but San Francisco has had an elected public defender's office since 1921. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Public_Defender%27s_Office https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Public_Defender%... and http://hrlr.law.columbia.edu/hrlr-online/the-publics-defender-analyzing-the-impact-of-electing-public-defenders/ http://hrlr.law.columbia.edu/hrlr-online/the-publics-defende... An elected office means they can more freely lobby for funding and changes in policy. OTOH, if the office is elected, there's a chance voters might elect a "tough on crime" public defender. https://www.kqed.org/news/11738958/only-sf-elects-its-public-defender-should-it-change https://www.kqed.org/news/11738958/only-sf-elects-its-public... (But see the previous HRLR article, which suggests that public defender office elections are rarely contested, even in moderate or relatively conservative states, which interestingly contain most of the few such offices.)
- dragonwriter 5y agoAn elected Public Defender isn't valuable background for other elected positions (unlike an elected D.A.), especially in moderate-to-conservative polities, so the kind of people interested in running for election usually don't want the job, and the kind of people who would want the job won't want for election (unless the election is pro forma because it is uncontested.)