The Effectiveness of the ABA’s Efforts to Increase Defendant Notice of Collateral Consequences: A Survey of South Carolina Defense Attorneys

Abstract

Recognizing the negative impacts of collateral consequences of conviction, the American Bar Association published advisory standards and other online compendium resources aimed at increasing defendant notice of such consequences before pleading guilty. However, no study has explored defense attorney awareness of these efforts or their perceived effectiveness. The current study fills this gap with a survey of South Carolina criminal defense lawyers. Results indicate that the majority of respondents felt that non-binding standards were ineffective, and most were unaware of an ABA standard aimed at increasing notice of collateral consequences. Further, a significant number of respondents were unaware of electronic sources that provided comprehensive lists of collateral consequences. These results indicate that non-binding standards may not be effective at changing attorney practices with regard to providing notice of collateral consequences. Jurisdictions may need to consider implementing binding standards and additional training meant to educate defense attorneys about the availability of electronic legal source material that provides comprehensive lists of collateral consequences.