Evidence from extensive observation in Cook County courts (Illinois) and interviews with current and former public defenders provides empirical evidence that public defenders are adversarial and even combative opponents of state prosecutors. The book argues that the public defender's office survives because its effective advocacy for its clients bolsters the court system's legitimacy. The image of the public defender, however, is that of an incompetent attorney whose role is that of a bureaucratic functionary who cooperates with the state to fulfill the ritual of the adversarial system without seriously challenging the state's goals. The book argues that although public defenders do not in actuality fulfill this negative image in defending their clients, they are careful not to advertise their successes or embarrass the state, since they depend upon the state for continued and expanded funding. An examination of the individual struggles of public defenders focuses on how they justify to themselves, each other, and the public their defense of persons whom they know to be guilty. 200-item bibliography and subject and author indexes.