DUI in Lee County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In Lee County, we compared 271 DUI cases with public defenders against 405 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 0.4 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

0.4%
PD Dismissal Rate
271 cases
0.0%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
405 cases
-0.4 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
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Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney Self-Represented
Total Cases 271 405 63
Dismissal Rate 0.4% 0.0% 0.0%
Conviction Rate 99.6% 99.3% 100.0%
Guilty Rate 99.3% 98.0% 100.0%
Adjudication Withheld 0.4% 1.2% 0.0%
Diversion Rate 0.0% 0.2% 0.0%
Avg Sentence 2.6 months 2.6 months 1.9 months
Avg Fine $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Avg Probation 11.0 months 10.8 months 9.5 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 DUI is 1.3% with public defenders and 0.9% with private attorneys (-0.4 point difference). Lee County's -0.4 point difference is equal to the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
Lee County 0.4% 0.0% -0.4 pts
Florida (Statewide) 1.3% 0.9% -0.4 pts

Other Charges in Lee County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Drug Possession 1,091 0.1% 567 0.0%
Traffic Offense 449 0.0% 379 0.0%
Resisting Officer 412 0.7% 196 0.0%
Battery 355 1.1% 201 0.0%
Larceny / Theft 389 1.3% 124 0.0%
Other 207 0.0% 103 0.0%
Trespassing 199 4.0% 42 0.0%
Criminal Mischief 115 1.7% 51 0.0%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Lee County, private attorney clients have a 0.0% dismissal rate for DUI compared to 0.4% for public defender clients. This is a -0.4 percentage point difference based on 676 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for DUI in Lee County is 99.6% with a public defender and 99.3% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 1.3% for public defenders and 0.9% for private attorneys. Lee County's difference of -0.4 points compares to a statewide difference of -0.4 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 · 676 cases analyzed · Lee County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026