A choice of solicitor is important to nine out of ten criminal defendants, according to a government-sponsored study published this week.

Users perspectives of defence services in the criminal justice system also says that one-third of defendants at police stations and a quarter appearing at magistrates’ courts do not fully understand what is happening – with one in six saying that they had ‘no idea’.

The report, by the Legal Services Research Centre for the Legal Services Commission (LSC), shows that defendants with less understanding of the process are less likely to be represented.

Researchers interviewed 212 people in police stations and 767 in magistrates’ courts between February and April 2008.

The most important factors in choosing a solicitor were quality, experience and knowledge. The ability to communicate, explain, listen and ‘be friendly’ were also important.

Few defendants chose a solicitor because of their sex or ethnic background, however.

Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, called on the LSC to take note of the research and ‘think again about some of its policies limiting choice of solicitor’.

Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said allowing people the choice of legal advisers was crucial to public confidence in the criminal justice system. ‘What we have to face is that there is an economic cost attached to providing that choice,’ he said.