The Price of Misdemeanor Representation

Over the weekend, Erica Hashimoto posted her new article, "The Price of Misdemeanor Representation," on SSRN.  The article addresses the chronic underfunding of indigent defense.  Erica argues that we are spending too much money to provide free representation to indigent misdemeanor defendants who could get the same or better results without a free lawyer.  She argues that states should take steps to reduce the number of misdemeanor appointments (including eliminating imprisonment for very minor offenses that trigger a constitutional right to counsel) so that resources can be used to reduce caseloads of indigent defenders handling more serious cases.   I'm particularly interested in this subject, having recently finished an article entitled Raise the Proof: A Default Rule for Indigent Defense, where I argue that state courts should raise the standard of proof in indigent defense cases until legislatures comply with national caseload recommendations or provide funding parity between prosecutors and defense lawyers. 

To be honest (and to demonstrate some of the humility that my wife claims I'm lacking), I can say that Erica's article is a better read, not to mention more realistic, than my proposal.  Her paper deserves serious attention.