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- Title
Is Pleading Really a Bargain?
- Authors
Abrams, David S.
- Abstract
A criminal defendant's decision of whether to accept a plea bargain is one with serious consequences both for his or her immediate and long-term future. Conventional wisdom suggests that defendants are better served by entering into a plea bargain, to avoid what is known as the 'trial penalty.' In this article I present evidence that this notion is likely mistaken. In OLS regressions using data from Cook County state courts, I find that a risk-neutral defendant seeking to minimize his or her expected sentence would do substantially better by rejecting a plea bargain. I also employ an IV approach to the question and, while the instrument is weak, the results are consistent with the OLS: defendants are better off going to trial.
- Subjects
COOK County (Ill.); ILLINOIS; PLEAS (Criminal procedure); CRIMINAL defendants; TRIALS (Law); PLEA bargaining; STATE courts
- Publication
Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 2011, Vol 8, p200
- ISSN
1740-1453
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1740-1461.2011.01234.x