A Longitudinal Examination of the Trial Penalty in Federal Cases

• In Event: Impact of Sentencing Decisions

Abstract

The trial penalty is the difference in sentence one receives for going to trial rather than pleading guilty, with those who go to trial receiving harsher punishments. This has the potential to coerce defendants into pleading guilty to avoid the harsher punishment should they be convicted at trial. Although there have been studies examining the trial penalty, this has not been studied over time. Cross sectional research cannot determine whether the trial penalty has changed over time. With fewer and fewer cases going to trial, it is possible that an increase in the trial penalty has been persuading more and more defendants to plead guilty. Using data from the Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) this study seeks to determine the size of the trial penalty, the variables that account for it, and whether it has changed over time.

Author

• Adam Gregory Fera, The Graduate Center, John Jay College / CUNY