Fairness in the criminal legal system is unattainable without effective legal representation of indigent defendants, yet we know little about the experience of attorneys who do this critical work. Using semi-structured interviews, our study investigated occupational stress in a sample of 78 attorneys representing indigent clients across the United States. We show how the chronic stressors experienced at work culminate in what we define as the stress of injustice: the social and psychological demands of working in a punitive system with laws and practices that target and punish those who are the most disadvantaged. Respondents positioned their professional stress around structural, not individual, aspects of the American criminal legal system, specifically punitive excess, underfunding of indigent defense, and the criminalization of mental illness and substance use. Working within these interrelated structural constraints makes public defenders highly vulnerable to stress and attrition.

中文翻译：

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不公正的压力：公设辩护人和美国不平等的前线

如果没有贫困被告的有效法律代理，刑事法律制度的公平就不可能实现，但我们对从事这项关键工作的律师的经验知之甚少。我们的研究采用半结构化访谈，调查了代表美国贫困客户的 78 名律师的职业压力。我们展示了工作中经历的长期压力源如何最终导致我们所定义的不公正压力：在惩罚性系统中工作的社会和心理要求，该系统的法律和做法针对并惩罚最弱势的人。受访者将他们的职业压力集中在美国刑事法律体系的结构性方面，而不是个人方面，特别是惩罚性过度、贫困辩护资金不足以及对精神疾病和药物滥用的刑事定罪。在这些相互关联的结构性限制下工作使得公设辩护人极易受到压力和消耗。