Notable Recent Publications, January 2026
Reports, Briefs, and Other Resources
Naufal, G. (2025). The State of Defense: An Evaluation of Public and Appointed Counsel in Travis County’s Criminal Justice System. Texas A&M University, Public Policy Research Institute.
https://ppri.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Final-Report-V2.2.pdf
The research team at PPRI conducted a comprehensive mixed-methods analysis between December 2024 and November 2025. The study reviewed administrative and financial data, conducted surveys and interviews with stakeholders, and analyzed outcomes related to the quality of representation, efficiency, and equity. Data sources included quantitative case-level data from court and attorney appointment systems, as well as qualitative insights gathered through interviews with judges, defense attorneys, county staff, prosecutors, office administrators, and community members. The report provides an in-depth examination of Travis County’s public defense system, including the Public Defender’s Office (PDO), the Capital Area Private Defender Service (CAPDS), and other relevant defense mechanisms—and evaluates their effectiveness in meeting goals of fairness, efficiency, and fiscal accountability. The findings are intended to support data driven decision-making and guide continued improvements to public defense services across the county.
Oh, S. (2025). Does discretion by elected judges benefit defendants, or judges? Evidence from public defense case assignment.
https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/2026/program/paper/iDkQf9zb
There is significant concern regarding whether publicly-funded defense attorneys provide adequate legal assistance, as indigent defendants often face worse case outcomes than those with retained counsel. One potential solution is to allow judges discretion in assigning cases to court-appointed attorneys to incentivize better legal assistance and improve attorney-defendant match quality. On the other hand, such assignments can raise concerns regarding quid pro quo in settings where judges are elected and where attorneys, who are paid per case, may donate to judges to secure case assignments. This paper examines this question using data from a large county that began prohibiting discretionary case assignments in 2015. I find that prohibiting discretionary case assignments reduces donations from defense attorneys to judges by 21 percent and lowers guilty conviction rates by 9-13 percent. These results indicate that discretionary assignments create corruption risks while worsening outcomes for low-income defendants.
Perez, D. B. (2025). Addressing Mental Needs in the Justice System. Capstone Project, California State University Monterey Bay.
https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3033&context=caps_thes_all
Clients in the Mental Health Diversion Program often struggle to understand legal requirements due to the impact of mental health symptoms, which can interfere with their ability to complete the program. This capstone project was implemented at the Monterey County Public Defender’s Office within the Mental Health Diversion team, which serves individuals in the legal system with mental health challenges. The project aimed to strengthen staff communication with clients by providing a training presentation on mental-health-informed communication strategies. A post-presentation survey measured staff experience, confidence, awareness, and intention to apply the techniques. Results showed that most staff already had extensive experience and high confidence communicating with clients, so the presentation increased awareness only slightly, but many participants reported they were very likely to apply the techniques discussed. Recommendations include offering future training to less-experienced staff, expanding education to other departments, and families to further improve client understanding and engagement.
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