Drug Possession in St. Johns County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In St. Johns County, we compared 1,724 Drug Possession cases with public defenders against 405 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 0.7 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

1.2%
PD Dismissal Rate
1,724 cases
0.5%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
405 cases
-0.7 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
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Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney Self-Represented
Total Cases 1,724 405 61
Dismissal Rate 1.2% 0.5% 0.0%
Conviction Rate 91.2% 81.7% 95.1%
Guilty Rate 72.7% 43.5% 49.2%
Adjudication Withheld 18.5% 38.3% 45.9%
Diversion Rate 7.3% 17.8% 4.9%
Avg Sentence 5.2 months 9.7 months 24 days
Avg Fine $1,097 $1,988 $0.00
Avg Probation 2.3 years 2.3 years 9.1 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 Drug Possession is 1.0% with public defenders and 1.3% with private attorneys (0.3 point difference). St. Johns County's -0.7 point difference is below the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
St. Johns County 1.2% 0.5% -0.7 pts
Florida (Statewide) 1.0% 1.3% +0.3 pts

Other Charges in St. Johns County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Traffic Offense 1,318 2.0% 2,536 0.4%
Battery 855 3.2% 416 0.7%
Larceny / Theft 930 1.1% 289 0.3%
DUI 479 4.4% 496 0.6%
Resisting Officer 548 3.8% 212 0.5%
Other 347 2.9% 245 1.2%
Trespassing 539 3.5% 50 0.0%
Sex Offense 175 1.1% 280 1.4%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In St. Johns County, private attorney clients have a 0.5% dismissal rate for Drug Possession compared to 1.2% for public defender clients. This is a -0.7 percentage point difference based on 2,129 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Drug Possession in St. Johns County is 91.2% with a public defender and 81.7% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 1.0% for public defenders and 1.3% for private attorneys. St. Johns County's difference of -0.7 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 · 2,129 cases analyzed · St. Johns County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026