Plea Bargaining and the Right to Trial by Jury
Date
2023-05
Authors
Sarcletti, Julia
Major Professor
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Laehn, Susan
Committee Member
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Abstract
It is common in academic research to portray the effects of plea bargaining from the defendant's perspective. The established research in the field portrays how an offender's will to give up their right to trial affects their sentencing, the racial consequences behind plea bargaining, and the risk of an offender pleading guilty when they are innocent. My research aims to invert the traditional examinations of plea bargaining to focus on the effects on potential jurors. I examine the effects of plea bargaining on civic engagement in America, specifically looking at the role of a juror. I analyze how plea bargaining, and the resulting lack of jury trials, impact individual jurors' civic function beyond the courtroom. I argue that the decrease in jury trials, influenced by the elevated rates of plea bargains, decreases a juror's likelihood of partaking in other forms of civic engagement. My theoretical examination of the literature suggests a potential causal connection between the decrease in jury trials followed by the decrease in civic engagement. Further, my analysis of the descriptive statistics on plea bargaining from 2013-2017 in federal trial courts and Minnesota state courts indicates a similar relationship, showing a decline in jury trial rates and, correspondingly, a decline in political engagement.
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