NCJ Number
66765
Editor(s)
W F MCDONALD,
J A CRAMER
Date Published
1980
Length
218 pages
Annotation
THIS VOLUME PRESENTS MAJOR FINDINGS OF ORIGINAL, UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH ON PLEA BARGAINING, INCLUDING REPORTS ON EXPERIMENTS IN TEXAS, ALASKA, FLORIDA, AND ENGLAND.
Abstract
IT CONTAINS SEPARATE REPORTS ON THREE MAJOR EXPERIMENTS IN PLEA BARGAINING RECENTLY CONDUCTED IN THE U.S. IN TEXAS AND ALASKA, ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO ELIMINATE PLEA BARGAINING, AND IN FLORIDA, AN EXPERIMENT WAS CONDUCTED TO RESTRUCTURE PLEA BARGAINING. ALSO DISCUSSED IS A 3-YEAR NATIONAL STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE INSTITUTE OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY WHICH FOCUSED ON PLEA BARGAINING IN THE STATE COURTS. ONE PART OF THE STUDY EXAMINED PROSECUTORIAL BLUFFING AND ADDRESSED ITS MEANING, ITS FREQUENCY, THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY ELABORATE FRAUDS, AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH IT INVOLVES ILLEGAL OR UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR. OTHER RESEARCH CONDUCTED AS PART OF THE STUDY EMPIRICALLY ASSESSED THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION ITEMS USED IN PLEA NEGOTIATIONS AND EXAMINED SOME PATTERNS AND DETERMINANTS OF PLEA-BARGAINING DECISIONS. A THIRD AREA OF RESEARCH FOCUSED ON THE ROLE OF TRIAL JUDGES IN THE PLEA-NEGOTIATION PROCESS. A REVIEW OF SENTENCE-BARGAINING IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURTS IS ALSO PRESENTED, AND A PROJECT IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WHICH EXAMINED PLEA BARGAINING BY USING THE DETAILED DATA BASE IN THE PROSECUTOR MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM IS REPORTED. FINALLY, PLEA BARGAINING IN ENGLAND IS EXAMINED, USING FINDINGS FROM A STUDY WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY BROADER BASE OF INTERVIEWING AND DATA GATHERING THAN WAS USED IN PREVIOUS ENGLISH STUDIES. TABLES, REFERENCE NOTES, AN INDEX, AND A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ARE PROVIDED. FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, SEE NCJ 66766-66773. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--PRG)