Methods & Sources
Methods and Sources
The Texas Defender Data Project aggregates available public defense data in Texas from state and county entities.
State-Level Data Sources
There are several datasets collected by state entities that capture the volume of criminal cases, how many are appointed to private counsel, the dispositions of those cases, the types of cases, and more.
Texas Judicial Council (TJC): The State-Wide Policymaking Body
While other states like New York house public defense oversight and data collection under the Executive branch—independent of the judiciary—in Texas, it is the judicial branch that provides public defense oversight and collects statewide public defense data.31 TJC is the state-wide policy-making body responsible for gathering data about the effectiveness of local courts.32
Office of Court Administration (OCA): The State-Wide Court Data Collection Agency
Specifically, the OCA is the state agency charged with implementing the data collection of the TJC. TGC § 72.012 “director”, § 72.022(a-b) “personnel”; TGC § 71.035 “data collection” While the general power of data collection is under Texas statute, the details of what data is collected are outlined in the Texas Administrative Code. TGC § 71.019 “rule making authority”; 1 TAC § 171.1–171.2 The OCA is directed to collect and publish annual trial court performance measures, ensuring data is maintained at an individual court level. TGC § 72.082–.083
Court Activity Reporting and Directory (CARD): OCA's Public Court Datasets
The OCA publishes monthly summary court statistics it gathers from each trial-level court in Texas (card.txcourts.gov). While courts report a variety of data (district report instructions), some of the key public defense data points contextualize the volume and types of cases — the number of new criminal cases filed, cases ending in conviction, cases ending in dismissal, and more. These data can be downloaded directly from the state website.
Date data was downloaded and processed: TBD. (Counties may send updated figures for past months where corrections are provided.)
Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC): The State-Wide Public Defense Data Collection Agency
Operating as a permanent standing committee of the TJC, the TIDC oversees state-funded indigent defense grants and county-level compliance monitoring. TGC § 79.002, § 79.037 It is statutorily empowered to direct the OCA to collect data specifically tailored to the operations, quality, and expenditures of local indigent defense delivery systems. TGC § 79.035 Where OCA collects data about courts, TIDC collects data more specifically about public defenders.
Attorney Detail Report (ADR): Annual Attorney-Level Caseload Data
To monitor local caseload volumes, every attorney representing indigent defendants in Texas must submit an annual report to the county detailing their total criminal, juvenile, and appellate appointments. TGC § 79.036(a-1) These individual disclosures are compiled by the county and transmitted to the TIDC to ensure compliance with specialized regional caseload standards. TGC § 79.036(b)
Date data was downloaded and processed: TBD. (Counties may send updated figures for past months where corrections are provided.)
Indigent Defense Expenditure Report (IDER): Annual County-Level Expenditures
Counties are required to submit an annual financial report detailing all local indigent defense expenditures. TGC § 79.036(a) The report mandates the granular itemization of public funds disbursed for appointed counsel fees, contract defender systems, public defender offices, independent investigators, and expert witnesses. TGC § 79.036(a)(1)–(4)
Date data was downloaded and processed: TBD. (Counties may send updated figures for past months where corrections are provided.)
County-Level Data Sources
While the OCA and TIDC provide aggregate data for the volume and composition of court and attorney caseloads, it is each of the 254 Texas counties that are responsible for maintaining case-level data. Gathering case-level data poses challenges.
Texas Public Information Act (PIA) Requests: No Right to Case-Level Data in Texas
The PIA is the legal vehicle for members of the public to request information from government agencies in Texas. However, case-level data from court case management systems in Texas are not considered public for the purpose of PIA. This poses challenges for researchers hoping to evaluate the relationship between public defense provision and outcomes for defendants.
Public Online Portals: Public Case-Level Data (In Development)
Local trial court records are managed by elected district and county clerks, who maintain individual case dockets and disposition entries. Tex. Const. Art. V, § 9, § 20 Access to aggregate or case-level public defense tracking is heavily reliant on the technical infrastructure of these local software networks and remote web portals. 1 TAC § 171.5
Supported Counties
Hays County
Date data was downloaded and processed: TBD. (Counties may send updated figures for past months where corrections are provided.)
Taylor County
Date data was downloaded and processed: TBD. (Counties may send updated figures for past months where corrections are provided.)
Sources
- Public Defense Data Project analysis of attorney_detail_report 2022–2023: ~28% of appointed cases statewide were represented by attorneys who also disposed over 300 cases that year. Internal analysis.
- Public Defense Data Project, October 2025: ~66% of Texas counties (representing ~11.4M Texans) have no regional or local public defender office. Internal analysis.
- Approximately 90% of Texas counties do not provide defense counsel at the first bail hearing for adults — a critical stage where pretrial release outcomes are decided.
- Texas UCR/NIBRS Arrest Trends Report. txucr.nibrs.com.
- Agan, Freedman & Owens (2017), Is Your Lawyer a Lemon? Incentives and Selection in the Public Provision of Criminal Defense. IRP working paper.
- Pretrial detention research summarizing collateral consequences of brief jail stays for indigent defendants. SSRN abstract 2809840.
- St. Louis, A. E. (2023), A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pretrial Detention and Case Outcomes. Taylor & Francis.
- Texas Indigent Defense Commission, monitoring program reports. tidc.texas.gov.
- Davis, N. T. (working paper), caseload analysis of Texas appointed defense. nicholastdavis.com.
- Public Defense Data Project analysis: statewide count of appointed defense attorneys, 2015–2023. Internal analysis.
- 6AC, The State of the Nation on Gideon’s 60th Anniversary (per-capita indigent defense spending comparison). 6ac.org.
- Rand Corporation (RR-A2559-1), national caseload standards for criminal defense. rand.org.
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc.& Texas Indigent Defense Commission — county-delegated structure of indigent defense in Texas. Source pending.
- Public Defense Data Project — count of Texas counties operating any form of public defender office. Source pending.
- Per-capita indigent-defense spending in Texas (FY2023). Source pending.
- National average per-capita indigent-defense spending (most recent year available). Source pending.
- Texas Indigent Defense Commission — overview of the two primary indigent-defense delivery models in Texas counties. Source pending.
- Public-defender-office funding sources: county budgets and TIDC discretionary grants. Source pending.
- Staffing composition of Texas public defender offices (attorneys, investigators, social workers, administrative staff). Source pending.
- Concentration of public defender offices in larger urban Texas counties. Source pending.
- Texas Indigent Defense Commission — majority of Texas counties use court-appointed private counsel. Source pending.
- Appointed-counsel delivery: court-maintained attorney lists vs. Managed Assigned Counsel (MAC) systems. Source pending.
- Variation in management structures among Texas appointed-counsel systems. Source pending.
- Per-case and hourly compensation arrangements in smaller, rural Texas counties. Source pending.
- County bulk contracts with private attorneys for indigent defense. Source pending.
- Managed Assigned Counsel (MAC) systems — oversight model and compensation structures. Source pending.
- Office of Court Administration (OCA) — county-level criminal case activity reporting. Source pending.
- OCA reporting mandate for Texas courts (case-data submission). Source pending.
- Texas Indigent Defense Commission — cost and delivery data for indigent defense. Source pending.
- TIDC annual county reporting requirements (expenditures, payment rates, caseload statistics). Source pending.
- N.Y. Exec. Law § 832 (N.Y. State Senate, current through 2026 chapters), nysenate.gov (“There is hereby created within the [New York state] executive department the office of indigent legal services… The purpose of such office is to monitor, study and make efforts to improve the quality of services provided pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law.”); Tex. Gov’t Code Ann.§ 79.034(a) (Tex. Constitution & Statutes, current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025), statutes.capitol.texas.gov (“The Texas Indigent Defense Commission is established as a permanent standing committee of the council.”); Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 79.036(a-1), (e) (same source) (describing county reporting requirements for indigent defense expenditure and appointment data to TIDC).
- “judicial statistics and other pertinent information, including for each trial court in this state monthly court activity statistics and case-level information on the amount and character of the business transacted by the court, from the several state judges and other court officials of this state.” Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 71.035.