Study finds presence of court observers increases chances of adjournment for defendant to find an attorney
A randomized control study found that when court observers were present at first immigration hearings in three NYC courts and told the judges that the court administration had been informed of the observation,
[A]n observer’s presence in the first hearing of a case without an attorney leads to a 19% increase in the likelihood that a judge will adjourn to allow the respondent time to hire an attorney relative to non-observed hearings.” Where the observer merely told the judge they were there to observe, the same effect was not seen, “suggesting that the judges’ response is stronger in the presence of hierarchical motives/considerations.
The study also found that factors about the judge such as age, gender, and years on the bench were not significant, but it did find that the observer’s presence increased the likelihood that the respondent actually secured an attorney by 13.7%.
