Child Abuse / Neglect in St. Lucie County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In St. Lucie County, we compared 106 Child Abuse / Neglect cases with public defenders against 60 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 2.8 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

2.8%
PD Dismissal Rate
106 cases
0.0%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
60 cases
-2.8 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
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Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney
Total Cases 106 60
Dismissal Rate 2.8% 0.0%
Conviction Rate 93.4% 93.3%
Guilty Rate 84.9% 65.0%
Adjudication Withheld 8.5% 28.3%
Diversion Rate 0.0% 1.7%
Avg Sentence 8.7 years 2.7 years
Avg Fine $1,050 $0.00
Avg Probation 2.7 years 3.0 years

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 Child Abuse / Neglect is 1.3% with public defenders and 1.6% with private attorneys (0.3 point difference). St. Lucie County's -2.8 point difference is below the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
St. Lucie County 2.8% 0.0% -2.8 pts
Florida (Statewide) 1.3% 1.6% +0.3 pts

Other Charges in St. Lucie County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Drug Possession 1,314 8.3% 737 5.3%
Traffic Offense 672 0.7% 398 0.0%
Battery 576 12.2% 364 4.7%
DUI 370 0.5% 537 0.0%
Larceny / Theft 573 2.4% 268 1.1%
Other 377 2.7% 281 1.1%
Resisting Officer 420 7.1% 189 1.6%
Fraud 234 4.3% 196 7.1%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In St. Lucie County, private attorney clients have a 0.0% dismissal rate for Child Abuse / Neglect compared to 2.8% for public defender clients. This is a -2.8 percentage point difference based on 166 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Child Abuse / Neglect in St. Lucie County is 93.4% with a public defender and 93.3% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 1.3% for public defenders and 1.6% for private attorneys. St. Lucie County's difference of -2.8 points compares to a statewide difference of 0.3 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 · 166 cases analyzed · St. Lucie County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026