Contempt of Court in Brevard County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In Brevard County, we compared 223 Contempt of Court cases with public defenders against 84 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Private attorneys achieved a 6.5 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

78.0%
PD Dismissal Rate
223 cases
84.5%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
84 cases
+6.5 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
The data shows private attorneys achieve a 6.5 percentage point higher dismissal rate for Contempt of Court in Brevard County. Get matched with a local defense attorney — free, no obligation.

Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney
Total Cases 223 84
Dismissal Rate 78.0% 84.5%
Conviction Rate 17.9% 13.1%
Guilty Rate 15.2% 7.1%
Adjudication Withheld 2.7% 6.0%
Diversion Rate 0.9% 1.2%
Avg Sentence 2.9 months 9.4 months
Avg Fine $0.00 $0.00
Avg Probation 9.7 months 1 year

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 Contempt of Court is 6.6% with public defenders and 6.3% with private attorneys (-0.3 point difference). Brevard County's 6.5 point difference is above the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
Brevard County 78.0% 84.5% +6.5 pts
Florida (Statewide) 6.6% 6.3% -0.3 pts

Other Charges in Brevard County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Traffic Offense 668 1.2% 353 3.4%
Drug Possession 556 0.2% 185 1.1%
Larceny / Theft 417 0.2% 80 1.2%
Battery 277 2.9% 122 1.6%
DUI 150 0.0% 236 2.1%
Other 199 2.0% 84 13.1%
Resisting Officer 196 0.5% 58 1.7%
Burglary 117 1.7% 25 0.0%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Brevard County, private attorney clients have a 84.5% dismissal rate for Contempt of Court compared to 78.0% for public defender clients. This is a 6.5 percentage point difference based on 307 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Contempt of Court in Brevard County is 17.9% with a public defender and 13.1% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 6.6% for public defenders and 6.3% for private attorneys. Brevard County's difference of 6.5 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 · 307 cases analyzed · Brevard County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026