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Social science research needs to expand beyond the courtroom and the jury room to address the multitude of factors involved in plea decisions and the influences at work on the various legal system players (e.g., defendants, defense attorneys, prosecutors, etc.). This work is both a culmination of the current state of plea bargaining research and a call to action for future researchers. All of the areas addressed - from innocents pleading guilty to prosecutor chargingdecisions to mass incarceration and felon disenfranchisement - merge to create a picture of our current criminal justice system as it really is, and how social science can move forward within it.
List of contents
- About the Contributors
- Introduction: A System of Pleas
- Vanessa A. Edkins and Allison D. Redlich
- Section 1: The System of Pleas and its Players
- Chapter 1: Arriving at a System of Pleas: The History and State of Plea Bargaining
- Lucian E. Dervan
- Chapter 2: Defendant Decision Making in Plea Bargains
- Shawn D. Bushway
- Chapter 3: Defense Attorneys and Plea Bargains
- Kelsey S. Henderson
- Chapter 4: Prosecutors and Plea Bargains
- Bryan C. McCannon
- Section 2: Influences on Plea Decision-Making
- Chapter 5: Race and Plea Bargaining
- Brian D. Johnson and Rebecca Richardson
- Chapter 6: Juvenile Justice and Plea Bargaining
- Allison D. Redlich, Tina Zottoli, and Tarika Daftury-Kapur
- Chapter 7: Innocence and Plea Bargaining
- Miko M. Wilford and Annmarie Khairalla
- Section 3: Results of a System of Pleas
- Chapter 8: Sentencing Disparity and Mass Incarceration
- Rhys Hester
- Chapter 9: Collateral Consequences and Disenfranchisement
- Vanessa A. Edkins
- Conclusion: Moving Forward in a System of Pleas
- Allison D. Redlich and Vanessa A. Edkins
About the author
Vanessa A. Edkins is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida Institute of Technology. Her research has been published in Law and Human Behavior, and Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Her work has also received coverage in the Wall Street Journal and The Economist.
Allison D. Redlich is a Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. The author/editor of five books, she is an internationally recognized expert on confessions and interrogations, guilty pleas, and mental health courts, and publishes extensively in these areas.
Summary
Over 95% of criminal convictions are by guilty plea. Trials are the rarity, and while much has been written on jury decision making and various parts of the trial process, the field has been largely silent on the practice that is most likely to affect an individual charged with a crime: plea bargaining.
A System of Pleas: Social Science's Contributions to the Real Legal System brings together into one resource the burgeoning body of research on plea bargaining. Drawing attention to the fact that convictions today are nearly synonymous with guilty pleas, this contributed volume begins with an overview and history of plea bargaining, with chapters focusing on defendants, defense attorneys and prosecutors and plea bargains; influences on plea decision-making, including race, juvenile justice system involvement, and innocence; and the results of a "system of pleas", such as sentencing disparities and mass incarceration, collateral consequences, and disenfranchisement. A concluding chapter by the volume's editors examines ways to move forward within an entrenched system. An excellent reference tool for furthering both research and practice, A System of Pleas is a must-have for academics and legal professionals interested in the fields of criminal justice, psychology and law, and related disciplines.
Additional text
It has taken decades, but the disciplines of criminology, economics, psychology, criminal justice, and history now give plea bargaining the full attention it deserves. Edkins and Redlich have assembled into this one volume the interconnected insights from these disciplines to explain the plea-centered reality of criminal courts in the United States. If you're new to the work of criminal courts, you need this book. And if you're an experienced traveler in the criminal courts and need a fresh way to see daily business, you need this book.
