Battery in Duval County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In Duval County, we compared 4,027 Battery cases with public defenders against 1,301 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 0.3 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

0.5%
PD Dismissal Rate
4,027 cases
0.2%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
1,301 cases
-0.3 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
Facing Battery charges in Duval County?

Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney Self-Represented
Total Cases 4,027 1,301 1,324
Dismissal Rate 0.5% 0.2% 0.9%
Conviction Rate 95.6% 90.4% 98.3%
Guilty Rate 72.1% 59.2% 48.1%
Adjudication Withheld 23.4% 31.2% 50.2%
Diversion Rate 3.2% 7.8% 0.7%
Avg Sentence 7.5 months 2.6 years 1.2 months
Avg Fine $122.02 $118.00 $114.37
Avg Probation 1 year 1 year, 2 months 10.5 months

Important context: Correlation is not causation. Private attorney clients may differ from public defender clients in income, prior criminal history, charge severity, and willingness to go to trial. These factors independently affect outcomes. This data is informational and does not constitute legal advice.

Statewide Comparison

Statewide, the dismissal rate for Battery is 2.7% with public defenders and 1.9% with private attorneys (-0.8 point difference). Duval County's -0.3 point difference is above the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
Duval County 0.5% 0.2% -0.3 pts
Florida (Statewide) 2.7% 1.9% -0.8 pts

Other Charges in Duval County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Drug Possession 10,372 0.1% 3,439 0.1%
Traffic Offense 3,850 2.4% 5,588 0.6%
Other 4,645 0.2% 1,460 0.3%
Larceny / Theft 4,355 0.2% 1,213 0.0%
Resisting Officer 3,265 0.2% 987 0.2%
DUI 1,891 0.3% 1,500 0.3%
Trespassing 2,023 0.3% 309 0.0%
Weapons Offense 1,234 0.2% 1,008 0.1%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Duval County, private attorney clients have a 0.2% dismissal rate for Battery compared to 0.5% for public defender clients. This is a -0.3 percentage point difference based on 5,328 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Battery in Duval County is 95.6% with a public defender and 90.4% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 2.7% for public defenders and 1.9% for private attorneys. Duval County's difference of -0.3 points compares to a statewide difference of -0.8 points.

Conviction includes guilty pleas and adjudication withheld. Data covers 2023–2025 FDLE public court records. Last updated: March 2026

Important: Differences in outcomes between public defenders and private attorneys may reflect differences in case complexity, defendant resources, charge severity, and other factors — not solely attorney quality. These statistics do not predict individual case outcomes.

Source: FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency · 5,328 cases analyzed · Duval County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026