Racial minorities comprise a very small proportion of the lawyers and judges in the United States. What accounts for this? What difference, if any, would it make if more of the lawyers representing criminal defendants were from racial minority groups?
Are racial minorities who are represented by public defenders or assigned counsel treated more harshly than those represented by private attorneys? If you were an African American, Hispanic, or Native American defendant and could choose whether to be represented by a public defender or a private attorney, which would you choose? Explain why.