Trespassing in St. Lucie County — Public Defender vs Private Attorney

In St. Lucie County, we compared 328 Trespassing cases with public defenders against 46 cases with private attorneys (2023-2025). Public defenders achieved a 14.3 percentage point higher dismissal rate.

14.3%
PD Dismissal Rate
328 cases
0.0%
Private Attorney Dismissal Rate
46 cases
-14.3 pts
Dismissal Rate Difference
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Full Comparison: Public Defender vs Private Attorney

Metric Public Defender Private Attorney
Total Cases 328 46
Dismissal Rate 14.3% 0.0%
Conviction Rate 73.2% 93.5%
Guilty Rate 68.6% 43.5%
Adjudication Withheld 4.6% 50.0%
Diversion Rate 5.5% 0.0%
Avg Sentence 2.9 months 3.7 months
Avg Fine $304.17 $585.94
Avg Probation 11.0 months 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 Comparison

Statewide, the dismissal rate for Trespassing is 5.0% with public defenders and 3.5% with private attorneys (-1.5 point difference). St. Lucie County's -14.3 point difference is below the statewide average.

Location PD Dismissal Private Dismissal Difference
St. Lucie County 14.3% 0.0% -14.3 pts
Florida (Statewide) 5.0% 3.5% -1.5 pts

Other Charges in St. Lucie County

Charge PD Cases PD Dismissal Private Cases Private Dismissal
Drug Possession 1,314 8.3% 737 5.3%
Traffic Offense 672 0.7% 398 0.0%
Battery 576 12.2% 364 4.7%
DUI 370 0.5% 537 0.0%
Larceny / Theft 573 2.4% 268 1.1%
Other 377 2.7% 281 1.1%
Resisting Officer 420 7.1% 189 1.6%
Fraud 234 4.3% 196 7.1%

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Frequently Asked Questions

In St. Lucie County, private attorney clients have a 0.0% dismissal rate for Trespassing compared to 14.3% for public defender clients. This is a -14.3 percentage point difference based on 374 cases. However, correlation is not causation — private attorney clients may have different case characteristics.
The conviction rate for Trespassing in St. Lucie County is 73.2% with a public defender and 93.5% with a private attorney. Conviction includes both guilty findings and adjudication withheld.
Statewide, the dismissal rate is 5.0% for public defenders and 3.5% for private attorneys. St. Lucie County's difference of -14.3 points compares to a statewide difference of -1.5 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 · 374 cases analyzed · St. Lucie County · 2023-2025 · Data last updated March 2026