How Judges’ Professional Experience Impacts Case Outcomes: An Examination of Public Defenders and Criminal Sentencing

Do judges’ professional backgrounds affect their rulings? We investigate this question by looking at the impact of judges’ public defender experience on sentencing. Leveraging thousands of sentences, we find that defendants assigned to a former public defender are, on average, less likely to be incarcerated. Their sentences are also sometimes shorter, which we show is partially due to former public defenders being less likely to give extreme punishments. Taken together, this means that even small increases in the number of former public defenders can result in thousands fewer people incarcerated. The findings make two key contributions. First, our findings provide crucial insight into disparities in the criminal legal system and how judge characteristics can play a significant role. Second, we showcase the potential impact of judges’ professional experience on decision-making. Both illustrate a new strategy through which politicians can influence policy—by choosing judges based on their previous jobs.