According to a worrying report from Fair Trials, young defendants often felt poorly advised and rushed into pleading guilty due to a lack of trust and confidence in their lawyers.

Fair Trials, a company that campaigns for fair and equal criminal justice systems across the world, spoke to young people who highlighted a lack of care and perceived incompetence and impartiality from their lawyers. This resulted in poorly informed choices, that had long-lasting consequences.

Young defendants spoke of rushed conversations with lawyers, where they felt they were being perceived as a burden. They also felt that duty solicitors and legal aid lawyers lacked financial incentives to secure the best results.

One young person from the report stated “I don’t expect them to be honest. Because… they get paid regardless, they get paid if I win or lose… There’s nothing really in it for them like that… If they’re getting paid the bare minimum, you’re going to do the bare minimum”.

This report was based on a survey of 27 young adults in prison across England and Wales, as well as a group discussion with 12 people who have had some experience with the criminal justice system as young adults.

Although Fair Trial pointed out that the participants involved may have strong feelings about their experience, they believe “while this might have influenced the portrayal of the legal professionals [in the study], we have no reason to suspect that the opinions expressed… were in any way exceptional or unusual”.

Furthermore, Fair Trials claimed that many people they spoke to “understood that defence lawyers could not always provide the level of assistance they wanted to provide, for reasons outside of their control”.

As a result of this study, Fair Trials highlighted the need for a more detailed understanding of the cause behind young people’s perceptions of lawyers, suggesting there is ample room for improvement of this.