The Role of Communication in Plea Bargaining and Plea Decision-Making

In this project, we test how defense attorney's competing professional motivations and the plea "telephone" game might impact the plea process and ultimate plea decision. Study 1 is an experimental survey with actual defense attorneys who have been prompted to either do their best for the hypothetical client or maintain a good relationship with the hypothetical prosecutor before reviewing discovery and presenting the plea offer to their client. Study 2 will involve an experimental hypothetical plea negotiation paradigm with mock defense attorneys and mock defendants. This project is Mary Catlin’s doctoral dissertation research and is funded by the American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP) and the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice (ADPCCJ).

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Examining the Impact of Evidence Strength and Extra-legal Factors on Plea Discounts 

In this study, we seek to compare the impact of evidence strength and extra-legal factors on the size of the sentencing discount received by plea bargaining defendants. Rational models of plea decision-making (i.e., the shadow of the trial model) suggest that the size of the plea discount should directly relate to the strength of the case against the defendant, where stronger evidence leads to decreased discounts. However, others have suggested that sentencing decisions may be shaped by stereotypes related to the perceived dangerousness of the defendant, which may include considerations of race, age, and sex. To explore these possibilities we use administrative court data from the state of Virginia to develop a regression model that provides highly accurate trial sentence predictions. We then apply the coefficients from this model to a sample of plea bargainers whose plea hearings were observed and coded for the presence of various types of case evidence. Using the observed plea sentence and predicted trial sentence for these defendants we construct an estimated plea discount and regress this discount on evidence strength and extra-legal variables.

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Petersen, K., Redlich, A. D., & Wilson, D. B. (2022). Discount for who? Comparing the effects of evidence and demographic characteristics on plea discounts. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18, 321-342.

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Investigating and Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Prosecution and Punishment: A Multi-Site Analysis

This project is in collaboration with Professor Brian Johnson (PI; University of Maryland) and Professor Miranda Galvin (Towson University) and funded by Arnold Ventures. There are three research questions: 1) How does the broad exercise of prosecutorial discretion relate to patterns of racial inequality in the justice system?; 2) Are racial disparities generated through similar discretionary processes across jurisdictions?; and 3) To what extent are patterns of disparity driven by crime severity? Questions will be addressed by examining the severity and number of initial charges, the magnitude and type of charge reductions, which cases are dismissed (and, when possible, why), and whether and how these processes vary by defendant race and ethnicity. In addition, the project team will examine various types of alternative/diversionary dispositions, such as the use of Probation before Judgment, a common diversion option that sidesteps the collateral consequences of a conviction, and  explore racial differences in guilty pleas and plea discounts, and final sentences. We are collaborating with three States' Attorneys Offices in Maryland.

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Understanding Youth Engagement in the Plea Process

In collaboration with Dr. Jodi Quas at the University of California, Irvine, we researched youth and adult engagement in the plea process. In the first phase of this research, we surveyed legal professionals (i.e., prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and guardians ad litem) about their perceptions of juvenile defendants’ engagement in the plea process, including the juvenile’s legal understanding of and participation in the plea process. In the second phase of this project, we conducted systematic observations of juvenile and adult plea hearings and interviewed defendants soon after the hearing. In this phase, we assessed juveniles' and adults' engagement in the plea process, including how much defendants understand about the process and how much they participate in the proceedings. The final phase of the study, which is currently underway, involves a one-year post-hearing follow-up of objective records to determine if engagement in plea hearings predicts future recidivism and court-related compliance. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice.

 

Redlich, A.D., Domagalski, K., Woestehoff, S., Dezember, A., & Quas, J.A. (2022). Describing and comparing plea hearings in juvenile and criminal court. Law and Human Behavior, 46, 337-352.

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Dezember, A., Luna, S., Woestehoff, S., Stoltz, M., Manley, M., Quas, J.A, & Redlich, A.D. (2022). Plea validity in circuit court: Judicial colloquies in misdemeanor vs. felony charges. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 28, 268-288.

 

Woestehoff, S., Redlich, A.D., Cathcart, E., & Quas, J. (2019). Legal professionals’ perceptions of juvenile engagement in the plea process. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 5, 121-131.

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