Sex Offense in Collier County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In Collier County, we compared 147 Sex Offense cases with public defenders against 633 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 0.7 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

0.7%
PD Dismissal Rate
147 cases
0.0%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
633 cases
-0.7 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
Facing Sex Offense charges in Collier County?
Metric Public Defender Private Attorney Self-Represented
Total Cases 147 633 2
Dismissal Rate 0.7% 0.0% 0.0%
Conviction Rate 93.9% 97.5% 50.0%
Guilty Rate 92.5% 96.2% 50.0%
Adjudication Withheld 1.4% 1.3% 0.0%
Diversion Rate 0.7% 0.9% 50.0%
Avg Sentence 8.1 years 19.6 years 1.5 months
Avg Fine $250.00 $100.00 $0.00
Avg Probation 5.9 years 6.9 years 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, the dismissal rate for Sex Offense is 2.3% with public defenders and 2.0% with private attorneys (-0.3 point difference). Collier County's -0.7 point difference is below the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
Collier County 0.7% 0.0% -0.7 pts
Florida (Statewide) 2.3% 2.0% -0.3 pts
Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Traffic Offense 1,606 0.0% 2,977 0.1%
Other 1,635 1.8% 2,333 39.4%
DUI 476 0.0% 1,389 0.4%
Drug Possession 1,038 0.0% 709 0.0%
Larceny / Theft 814 0.0% 650 0.9%
Battery 569 0.9% 589 1.0%
Resisting Officer 547 0.4% 444 0.5%
Trespassing 480 0.6% 134 0.0%

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In Collier County, private attorney clients have a 0.0% dismissal rate for Sex Offense compared to 0.7% for public defender clients. This is a -0.7 percentage point difference based on 780 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Sex Offense in Collier County is 93.9% with a public defender and 97.5% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 2.3% for public defenders and 2.0% for private attorneys. Collier 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 · 780 cases analyzed · Collier County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026