RT Article
T1 Understanding Plea Bargaining in a New Progressive DA’s Office: How Line Prosecutors Understand and Implement Progressive Goals Through Plea Decisions
JF Criminal justice and behavior
VO 50
IS 3
SP 429
OP 453
A1 Grodensky, Catherine A.
A2 Crozier, William E.
A2 Gifford, Elizabeth J.
A2 Garrett, Brandon L. 1975-
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1833891252
AB Plea deals resolve the vast majority of prosecuted criminal cases in the U.S. legal system. Prosecutors hold disproportionate power in plea bargaining and have been blamed for driving punitiveness and racial disparities. Progressive prosecutors aim to reverse these trends, but little is known about how they will alter plea practices. We conducted qualitative interviews with all the assistant district attorneys (ADAs, N = 19) in a mid-sized office with a newly elected progressive DA. Interviews discussed how ADAs implemented office policies and progressive goals in plea bargaining. Prosecutors described working to implement five main progressive goals in their plea decisions: (a) dismissing low-level drug possession charges; (b) avoiding over-penalization, particularly for “victimless” crimes; (c) declining to prosecute weak cases; (d) encouraging open communication with defense; and (e) promoting racial equity. Prosecutors’ descriptions of how these goals guided case decisions illuminate how progressive prosecution may affect the criminal justice system through plea bargaining.
K1 Sentencing
K1 CRIMINAL justice system
K1 Law
K1 Qualitative methods
K1 Decision-making
DO 10.1177/00938548221140356