NCJ Number
120521
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 259-283
Date Published
1989
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The idea that guilty pleas may be encouraged by attorneys to expedite court caseload processing implies that some defendants may be influenced to give up their constitutional right to trial.
Abstract
Some defendants may be denied an adequate determination of legal guilt if this is true. A very thorough aggregate level test of the caseload pressure hypothesis is presented built on previous research. Variation in structural and procedural characteristics across 101 Illinois circuit courts is controlled in this study which supports the idea that felony caseload pressures significantly covary with felony guilty plea rates. The study showed this relationship to be stable from 1973 to 1984. 1 figure, 6 tables, 32 references. (Author abstract modified)