Drug Sale in Duval County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In Duval County, we compared 1,026 Drug Sale cases with public defenders against 625 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 0.4 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

0.4%
PD Dismissal Rate
1,026 cases
0.0%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
625 cases
-0.4 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
Facing Drug Sale charges in Duval County?

Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney Self-Represented
Total Cases 1,026 625 28
Dismissal Rate 0.4% 0.0% 0.0%
Conviction Rate 99.6% 99.8% 100.0%
Guilty Rate 91.4% 88.3% 53.6%
Adjudication Withheld 8.2% 11.5% 46.4%
Diversion Rate 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Avg Sentence 2.1 years 3.4 years 3.2 years
Avg Fine $50,000 $16,833 $0.00
Avg Probation 1 year, 10 months 1 year, 12 months 1 year, 6 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 Sale is 0.8% with public defenders and 0.7% with private attorneys (-0.1 point difference). Duval County's -0.4 point difference is below the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
Duval County 0.4% 0.0% -0.4 pts
Florida (Statewide) 0.8% 0.7% -0.1 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%
Battery 4,027 0.5% 1,301 0.2%
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%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Duval County, private attorney clients have a 0.0% dismissal rate for Drug Sale compared to 0.4% for public defender clients. This is a -0.4 percentage point difference based on 1,651 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Drug Sale in Duval County is 99.6% with a public defender and 99.8% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 0.8% for public defenders and 0.7% for private attorneys. Duval County's difference of -0.4 points compares to a statewide difference of -0.1 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 · 1,651 cases analyzed · Duval County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026