Guilty pleas, not trials, now dominate criminal case disposition

Evidence

We know that prosecutorial discretion is vast. Prosecutors decide what cases to prosecute, determine and change charges, dismiss cases and drop specific charges at multiple points, adopt diversion programs and divert qualified defendants, negotiate pleas, and make pretrial release and sentencing recommendations. In both state and federal systems, the prosecutorial power is especially unlimited and unchecked when it comes to plea bargaining. Guilty pleas have become the dominant mechanism of case disposition. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, for every 100 felony defendants processed in urban courts, only 3 are convicted at trial (Cohen & Kyckelhahn, 2010). In the federal system, only 2 percent of criminal defendants go to trial, and in the past two decades, the number of federal defendants opting for a trial has fallen by 60 percent (Gramlich, 2019). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 547 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Severity of potential penalty drives felony defendants toward trials or plea bargains — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1664; Plea bargaining dominated American courts by the early 1900s, not recently — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1767; Plea bargaining operates as a rough informal system of precedent — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1751 (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Guilty pleas dominate criminal case disposition overwhelmingly #corroborates (0.98) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 547