Larceny / Theft in Lake County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In Lake County, we compared 1,693 Larceny / Theft cases with public defenders against 649 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 1.3 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

1.6%
PD Dismissal Rate
1,693 cases
0.3%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
649 cases
-1.3 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
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Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney Self-Represented
Total Cases 1,693 649 507
Dismissal Rate 1.6% 0.3% 0.4%
Conviction Rate 91.6% 74.4% 57.2%
Guilty Rate 81.2% 54.7% 38.7%
Adjudication Withheld 10.4% 19.7% 18.5%
Diversion Rate 5.6% 24.8% 42.4%
Avg Sentence 10.5 months 1 year 1.4 months
Avg Fine $247.02 $248.48 $261.53
Avg Probation 1 year, 10 months 1 year, 9 months 7.2 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 Larceny / Theft is 1.4% with public defenders and 1.3% with private attorneys (-0.1 point difference). Lake County's -1.3 point difference is below the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
Lake County 1.6% 0.3% -1.3 pts
Florida (Statewide) 1.4% 1.3% -0.1 pts

Other Charges in Lake County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Drug Possession 2,957 0.6% 1,281 1.4%
Traffic Offense 2,292 1.1% 1,517 0.3%
Other 1,040 2.1% 921 3.3%
Battery 1,102 2.0% 631 1.1%
Resisting Officer 1,054 2.2% 428 1.2%
DUI 415 1.0% 651 0.6%
Trespassing 907 5.5% 135 0.7%
Sex Offense 366 9.3% 548 4.4%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Lake County, private attorney clients have a 0.3% dismissal rate for Larceny / Theft compared to 1.6% for public defender clients. This is a -1.3 percentage point difference based on 2,342 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Larceny / Theft in Lake County is 91.6% with a public defender and 74.4% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 1.4% for public defenders and 1.3% for private attorneys. Lake County's difference of -1.3 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 · 2,342 cases analyzed · Lake County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026