Data and Code for: The Role of Race in the Legal Representation of Low-Income Defendants

While most criminal defendants rely on assigned counsel for legal representation, little is known about the role of race in the defense of low-income defendants by court-appointed attorneys. Exploiting the quasi-random assignment of court-appointed attorneys to cases in Travis County, Texas, we test whether attorneys secure better deals for same-race defendants. Results indicate that while Black and White attorneys are similarly effective at representing White defendants, Black defendants who are represented by White rather than Black attorneys are 14-16 percent more likely to have their charges dismissed and 15-26 percent less likely to be incarcerated. Moreover, we find no evidence that having a different-race attorney increases the likelihood of re-offending in the future.