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Explore the Data

In 2022 and 2023, researchers at the Deason Center collected data from thousands of misdemeanor cases across four counties in Texas. These data allowed the research team to illustrate changes in the proportion of defendants represented by different types of counsel at different points in misdemeanor cases.

Almost every defendant experienced non-representation at some point in their case in the four non-representation project counties. Only a very small number who had been able to retain lawyers had legal counsel present at magistration. In later stages of the cases, some applied for counsel and received it, while others retained a lawyer privately. The Center’s data allow a deep dive into when defendants are represented, and by whom, in each county.

Acknowledgment

Much of the data gathered by the non-representation project team could not have been obtained without the invaluable assistance of officials and staff in the justice systems of the counties the team selected for study. All counties are pseudonymous throughout this report, so these individuals cannot be named. The Deason Center is deeply grateful for their assistance, without which this work would not have been possible.