Epiphenomenal Indigent Defense

There are some much-studied, recurring social events and behaviors that, although centrally important to public policy and social life, have proven intractable to explanation and prediction. As currently salient examples, consider stock market crashes and recessions. Economists cannot consistently see them coming nor explain them after the fact in consistent detail. Another example is crime rates, which rise, and in recent decades fall, without any discernable strong causal link to familiar variables such as employment or imprisonment rates.

This Article describes why we can add state funding for indigent defense counsel to that list and what this conclusion means for indigent defense funding policy.