NCJ Number
99875
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1985) Pages: 10-15
Date Published
1985
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Using data from the 1980 Bureau of Justice Statistics project, the Prosecution of Felony Arrests, this study identifies factors related to the ratio of guilty pleas to trials in 14 State and local jurisdictions, all with populations of 200,000 or more.
Abstract
In each jurisdiction, data on cases initiated in 1980 or 1981 were obtained from the Prosecutor's Management Information System. Data compare the number of guilty pleas and number of trials and indicate the percent of felony arrests rejected or dismissed in high-plea and high-trial jurisdictions. Data also show the percentage< of guilty pleas to the principal charge, the percentage of convictions resulting in imprisonment, and the mean number of days from felony arrest to plea or trial. Guilty pleas outnumbered trials by 11 to 1. The process of obtaining convictions by plea varied substantially among jurisdictions, defying any attempt to generalize about the plea bargaining process. High-trial jurisdictions screen out all but the highly convictable arrests before court filing, limit plea bargaining, and routinely bring cases to trial when the defendant does not plead guilty as charged. High-plea jurisdictions, on the other hand, tend to accept a high rate of arrests, conduct plea bargaining, and obtain more prison sentences than high-trial jurisdictions. Suggestions for future research are offered. Tabular data, 4 methodological notes, and 10 footnotes are provided.