TRIAL JUDGES' PARTICIPATION IN PLEA BARGAINING - AN EMPIRICAL PERSPECTIVE

• NCJ Number: 59925
• Journal: Law and Society Review Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (WINTER 1979) Pages: 479-507
• Author(s): J P RYAN; J J ALFINI
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 29 pages
• Corporate Author: Law and Society Assoc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: REVISED VERSION OF THIS PAPER PRESENTED AT THE SOUTHERN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION IN NEW ORLEANS (LA), 1977 ANNUAL MEETING

Annotation

THIS EXAMINATION OF THE ROLE OF TRIAL JUDGES IN PLEA BARGAINING USES NATIONAL SURVEY DATA SUPPLEMENTED BY OBSERVATIONS AND INTERVIEWS.

Abstract

TRIAL JUDGES PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PLEA BARGAINING, CONTRARY TO THE CONCLUSIONS OF MOST STUDIES. IN FACT, FEW STUDIES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED ON THE ROLE OF TRIAL JUDGES BECAUSE IT WAS ASSUMED THAT EXPLICIT PROHIBITIONS DEVELOPED BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND VARIOUS STATES WERE BEING OBSERVED. THIS STUDY PROVIDES AN EMPIRICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ACTUAL ROLE OF TRIAL JUDGES IN THIS PROCESS. A 1977 QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO ALL JUDGES IN STATE TRIAL COURTS OF GENERAL JURISDICTION. THE QUESTIONNAIRE FOCUSED ON THE JUDGES' INVOLVEMENT IN PLEA BARGAINING, TIME SPENT IN SUCH BARGAINING, AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFICIENCY OF SUCH NEGOTIATIONS AND THEIR OWN SKILLS AS NEGOTIATORS. AN ADDITIONAL 1976 QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 25 PERCENT OF THE JUDGES IN ALL STATE COURTS WHO HEARD PRIMARILY MISDEMEANOR CASES. IT WAS FOUND THAT ONE IN FOUR FELONY JUDGES AND ONE IN FIVE MISDEMEANOR JUDGES PARTICIPATE IN THE SUBSTANCE OF PLEA NEGOTIATIONS WITH COUNSEL. THE DATA SUGGEST THAT FELONY JUDGES WHO PERCEIVE THEMSELVES TO BE SKILLED AT NEGOTIATING, WHO FACE LONG TRIAL TIME IN INDIVIDUAL CASES, WHO SIT IN COURTS NOT GOVERNED BY A RULE PROHIBITING PLEA INVOLVEMENT, WHO HEAR ONLY CRIMINAL CASES, AND WHOSE PROSECUTORS ACHIEVE SOME LONGEVITY IN THEIR COURTROOMS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BECOME ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN PLEA DISCUSSIONS. THE JUDGES' PERCEPTION OF THEIR NEGOTIATING SKILLS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT VARIABLE IN DETERMINING BARGAINING PARTICIPATION, AND PROSECUTORIAL STABILITY WAS THE LEAST IMPORTANT. MISDEMEANOR JUDGES WHO SIT IN COURTS WHERE A JURY TRIAL IS AVAILABLE TO DEFENDANTS, WHERE GUILTY PLEAS ARE MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR AFTER THE DEFENDANTS' INITIAL APPEARANCE, AND WHERE THERE IS NO RESTRICTIVE ROLE CONCERNING PARTICIPATION, ARE MORE LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE IN PLEA DISCUSSIONS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD FOCUS UPON THE IMPACT OF JUDICIAL PARTICIPATION IN PLEA BARGAINING. FOOTNOTES, REFERENCES, STATISTICAL TABLES, AND AN APPENDIX SHOWING TRIAL JUDGE PARTICIPATION IN PLEA DISCUSSIONS BY STATE ARE PROVIDED. (KCP)