Should We Heed Pleas for Plea Bargaining Reform?

Although a right to trial is enshrined in the American Constitution, practically the nation’s criminal justice system now resolves almost all cases through plea bargaining. This has raised many questions, including whether innocent people are effectively coerced into pleading guilty, whether similarly situated defendants are treated equally, and whether there is enough transparency to evaluate the system’s effectiveness and correct injustices. In February 2023, a task force assembled by the Criminal Law Section of the American Bar Association released a report that made numerous recommendations for changing current policy and practice on plea bargaining. Amid a system struggling with COVID-era backlogs and rates of serious crimes that largely remain above 2019 levels, are there ways to bolster the effective availability of the right to trial without jeopardizing public safety or requiring an unrealistic increase in system capacity? Featuring:--Clark Niely, Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, Cato Institute--Kent Volkmer, Pinal County Attorney, Pinal County, Arizona--[Moderator] Marc Levin, Chief Policy Counsel, Council on Criminal Justice