Repeat players in one courtroom develop shared familiarity that shapes plea bargaining

Evidence

When defendants can afford private counsel, they typically select someone from the local criminal bar who has represented numerous defendants in that court. As a result, when a prosecutor and defense attorney-and possibly the judge-participate in plea negotiations, i sometimes in cases similar to the one under discussion.’ — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1749

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains why the criminal bar is a repeat-player institution rather than a market of anonymous advocates.
• XREF: connects to: Ongoing business relationships push repeat players to resolve disputes outside courts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2267; Repeat players’ specialist counsel and litigation experience give them structural advantages. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2287; Lawyer groups with long-term stakes can equalize one-shotter bargaining power. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2290 (+13 more)

Broader Connections

• Repeated interaction among courtroom workgroup members promotes cooperative plea bargaining #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1784
• Litigants divide into occasional one-shotters and frequent repeat players who learn the system #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2258
• Plea bargaining stems from institutional actors’ shared interest in speed, not caseloads #complicates (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1780
• People cooperate more when they expect repeated dealings or know a partner’s reputation #corroborates (0.90) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 34
• Plea bargaining persists even when caseload and evidence cannot explain it #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1773
• Plea bargaining operates as a rough informal system of precedent #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1751
• Plea bargaining shifts sentencing control from legislatures to courtroom actors’ discretion #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1809
• Active trial judging extends into negotiating pleas and settlements between parties #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 568
• Judges are persuaded more by colleagues whose legal perspective they share #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2621
• Genuine reciprocity requires mutual tension and shared attention between two participants #complicates (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 14
• Trial lawyers mirror each other’s presence as strategic deterrence. #complicates (0.75) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2320
• Rising caseloads without matching resources drove the spread of plea bargaining #complicates (0.70) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1765
• Racial disparity in plea bargaining is nearly unstudied despite its centrality #complicates (0.70) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 619