Abstract
The legal ramifications of pleading guilty and findings of an interdependence between pleading guilty and sentence severity suggest that the guilty plea decision is a significent turning point in case processing. The present research examines the variables affecting the probability of pleading guilty. The first analysis involves estimating a single probit equation of main effects of variables previously found to be related to pleading guilty. A second analysis is conducted estimating the same equation separately for black defendants and white defendants. Findings from the first part of the analysis indicate that physical evidence, number of charges, and confessing to the crime during police/prosecutor interrogation increase the probability of pleading guilty, whereas the number of witnesses, use of a weapon, and offenses carrying a minimum penalty of 5 years in custody with no maximum prison term decrease the probability of pleading guilty. Findings from the second analysis indicate that the effect of marital status, prior record of felony convictions, type of counsel, number of charges, and use of a weapon on the probability of pleading guilty varies by defendant's race. The research concludes by offering several competing explanations of these findings in hope of stimulating further research on the variables affecting the route of case disposition in felony processing.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Albonetti, C. A. (1987). Criminality, prosecutorial screening, and uncertainty: Toward a theory of discretionary decision making in felony case processing.Criminology 24: 623–644.
Albonetti, C. A., Hauser, J. N., Hagan, J., and Nagel, I. (1989). Criminal justice decision making as a stratification process: The role of race and stratification resources in pre-trial release.J. Quant. Criminol. 5: 57–82.
Aldrich, J. H., and Nelson, F. D. (1984).Linear Probability, Logit, and Probit Models, Sage, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Alschuler, A. W. (1968). The prosecutor's role in plea bargaining.Univ. Chicago Law Rev. 36: 50–112.
Alschuler, A. W. (1975). The defense attorney's role in plea bargaining.Yale Law J. 84: 1179–1313.
Blumberg, A. S. (1967). The practice of law as a confidence game: Organizational cooptation of a profession.Law Soc. Rev. 15: 15–20.
Brereton, D., and Casper, J. D. (1981–1982). Does it pay to plead guilty: Differential sentencing and the functioning of criminal courts.Law Soc. Rev. 16: 45–70.
Buckle, S. R., and Buckle, L. C. (1977).Bargaining for Justice: Case Disposition and Reform in the Criminal Courts, Praeger, New York.
Casper, J. D. (1972).American Criminal Justice: The Defendant's Perspective, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Chambliss, W., and Seidman, R. B. (1971).Law, Order, and Power, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Eisenstein, J., and Jacob, H. (1977).Felony Justice: An Organizational Analysis of Criminal Courts, Little, Brown, Boston.
Farnworth, M., and Horan, P. M. (1980). Separate justice: An analysis of race differences in court processes.Soc. Sci. Res. 9: 381–399.
Feeley, M. M. (1979).The Process Is the Punishment, Russel Sage Foundation, New York.
Hagan, J. (1974). Extra-legal attributes and criminal sentencing: An assessment of a sociological viewpoint.Law Soc. Rev. 8: 357–383.
Hagan, J., and Albonetti, C. (1982). Race, class and the perception of criminal injustice in America.Am. J. Sociol. 88: 329–356.
Hagan, J., and Bumiller, B. (1983). Making sense of sentencing: A review and critique of sentencing research. In Blumstein, A., Martin, S. E., and Tonry, M. H. (eds.),Research on Sentencing: The Search for Reform, Vol. 2, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., pp. 1–54.
Heumann, M. (1978).Plea Bargaining: The Experiences of Prosecutors, Judges, Defense Attorneys, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Kleck, G. (1981). Racial discrimination in criminal sentencing: A critical evaluation of the evidence with additional evidence on the death penalty.Am. Sociol. Rev. 46: 783–805.
La Free, G. (1985). Adversarial and nonadversarial justice: A omparison of guilty pleas and trials.Criminology 23: 289–312.
Littrell, W. B. (1979).Bureaucratic Justice: Police, Prosecutors, and Plea Bargaining, Sage, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Lizotte, A. J. (1978). Extra-legal factors in Chicago's criminal courts: Testing the conflict model of criminal justice.Soc. Problems 25: 564–580.
Mather, L. M. (1979).Plea Bargaining or Trial? The Process of Criminal Case Disposition, Lexington Books, Lexington, Mass.
Miethe, T. D., and Moore, C. A. (1986). Racial differences in criminal processing: The consequences of model selection on conclusions about differential treatment.Sociol. Q. 27: 217–237.
Mileski, M. (1971). Courtroom encounter: An observational study of lower criminal courts.Law Soc. Rev. 5: 473–538.
Miller, H. S. (1980).Plea Bargaining in the United States, Vol. 1, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
Myers, M. A., and Hagan, J. (1979). Private and public trouble: Prosecutors and the allocation of court resources.Soc. Problems 26: 439–451.
Petersilia, J. (1983).Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System (R-2947-NIC), Rand, Santa Monica, Calif.
Peterson, R. D., and Hagan, J. (1984). Changing conceptions of race and sentencing decisions.Am. Sociol. Rev. 49: 56–70.
Rhodes, W. M. (1978).Plea Bargaining: Who Gains? Who Loses? Institute for Law and Social Research, Washington, D.C.
Rosett, A. I., and Cressey, D. R. (1976).Justice by Consent: Plea Bargaining in the American Courthouse, Lippincott, Philadelphia.
Rossman, H. H., McDonald, W. F., and Cramer, J. A. (1980). Some patterns and determinants of plea-bargaining decisions: A simulation and quasi-experiment. In McDonald, W. F., and Cramer, J. A. (eds.),Plea-Bargaining, Lexington Books, Lexington, Mass.
Skolnick, J. H. (1966).Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society, John Wiley, New York.
Smith, D. A. (1984). The organizational context of legal control.Criminology 22: 19–38.
Smith, D. A. (1986). The plea bargaining controversy.J. Crim. Law Criminol. 77: 949–968.
Spohn, C., Gruhl, J. and Welch, S. (1982). The effect of race on sentencing: A re-examination of an unsettled question.Law Soc. Rev. 16: 71–88.
Uhlman, T. M., and Walker, N. D. (1979). A plea is no bargain: The impact of case disposition on sentencing.Soc. Sci. Q. 60: 218–234.
Uhlman, T. M., and Walker, N. D. (1980). He takes some of my time; I take some of his: An analysis of judicial sentencing patterns in jury cases.Law Soc. Rev. 14: 323–341.
Unever, J. D., Frazier, C. E., and Henretta, J. C. (1980). Race differences on criminal sentencing.Sociol. Q. 21: 197–205.
Utz, P. J. (1978).Settling the Facts: Discretion and Negotiation in Criminal Courts, Lexington Books, Lexington, Mass.
Welch, S., Gruhl, J., and Spohn, C. (1984). Dismissal, conviction, and incarceration of Hispanic defendants: A comparison with Anglos and Blacks.Soc. Sci. Q. 65: 257–264.
Zatz, M. S. (1984). Race, ethnicity and determinant sentencing: A new dimension to an old controversy.Criminology 22: 147–171.
Zatz, M. S. (1985) Pleas, priors, and prison: Racial/ethnic differences in sentencing.Soc. Sci. Res. 14: 169–193.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Albonetti, C.A. Race and the probability of pleading guilty. J Quant Criminol 6, 315–334 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065413
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065413