Remand for Plea. Bail Decisions and Plea Bargaining as Commensurate Decisions

Effects of Individual Characteristics on Plea Negotiations Under Sentencing Guidelines

“…A few studies have acknowledged a relationship between sex of the offender and the likelihood of pleading guilty (FiguieraMcDonough, 1985;Johnson, 2003). Age of the offender has produced mixed results (Kellough & Wortley, 2002;LaFree, 1985). This review has made it clear, therefore, that some research imputed a significant relationship between offender characteristics and the decision to plead guilty .…”

“…Decisions by prosecutors can impact later decisions (e.g., bail and sentencing) by other members of the court (see Johnson, 2003;Kellough & Wortley, 2002;Wilmot & Spohn, 2004). Wooldredge and Thistlethwaite (2004) found that earlier decisions by the prosecutor resulted in more favorable dispositions at the charging stage yet less favorable at the conviction and/or sentencing stage.…”

“…The most important influences on the likelihood of pleading guilty have been the severity of the current offense and the length and severity of the prior record (Meyer & Gray, 1997). Studies also found, however, that Black defendants and male defendants were the least likely to plead guilty (Albonetti, 1990;Kellough & Wortley, 2002;LaFree, 1985). A higher proportion of Black defendants and Hispanic defendants go to trial than the proportion of white defendants even though the majority of the cases conclude with a negotiated guilty plea (Johnson, 2003).…”

The Role of Collective Efficacy in Defendants’ Acceptance of Plea Bargaining: A Perspective on Housing Density

“…Past research has attempted to determine whether plea bargaining process is discriminatory and what legal and extralegal factors influence defendants' plea bargaining decision-making. Interest has been focused on examining legal characteristics [8,11], such as the strength of the evidence, the use of public or private attorneys, and the court caseload, as well as defendants' demographic characteristics namely gender, race, and age. Nevertheless, the question of whether social context plays an important role in defendants' plea bargaining decision-making has not been addressed [5].…”

“…In addition, Kellough and Wortley state that the strength of the evidence, the use of a public or private defender, and the fact of a pretrial detention not only have strong effects on court's decision to offer a plea bargaining, but also impact the defendant's likelihood of accepting a plea bargaining. Those who are taken into custody or those chronic and more serious offenders are more likely to accept a plea, no matter how much the plea discount is offered [11]. The contextual characteristics of the court, including caseload volume, court community size, violent crime rates, the size of the black population, and the count's focal concern, affect both the court's decision and defendant's perceived probability of convictions, which consequently impact the defendant's acceptance of a plea bargaining [5,8].…”