The Trial Penalty: A Look at Coercive Plea Practices from the Trenches

Abstract

Coercive plea practices can easily yield a trial penalty or trial tax—a vastly, sometimes geometrically increased sentence imposed simply because an accused person asserts the fundamental right to challenge the prosecution’s evidence. The problem is pervasive in federal and state courts, and although some judges have expressed concerns and sought to redress the problem, all too often it is reflexively dismissed as an acceptable offshoot of plea bargaining. There is a pressing need for national reform to alter the prevailing culture.