Public Defenders and Race: Something to Think About

My brother sent me over this article entitled "Public Defenders as Effective as Private Attorneys," which basically finds just that. Yay! Public defenders! Disparaties between the outcomes of those who have a private attorney as a public defender do matter in regards to race though. Surprise, surprise. The article states:

...they noted some interestingly varied outcomes when looking at a defendant’s race. “White defendants are the only defendants who benefit from having a private attorney at the release decision,” they write. Specifically, they found whites with private attorneys are 2.7 times more likely than whites with public defenders to have bail granted. For people of color, private attorneys may not help in getting bail, but they do facilitate plea bargains. “Black defendants who retain a private attorney are almost two times more likely to have the primary charge reduced than black defendants who are represented by a public defender,” the researchers write.

Now, the first point seems like the court favors wealthy white men over poor white men. And, wealthier black men over poor black men. Now, I wonder what causes the difference between white defendents whose attorney choice affects the release decision and black defendents whose attorney choice affects their possibility of a charge reduction? Is the court more likely to be "fair" or on their toes with attorneys that are perceived to have a higher stake  and interest in the case? Even within this seeming divisision between those who can afford an attorney and ones that can not, one realizes that the disparaties over sentencing whites and blacks remain strong.