The Plea Bargaining Blog

I recently posted my article entitled "White Collar Over-Criminalization: Deterrence, Plea Bargaining, and the Loss of Innocence," to SSRN for free download.  Below is the article's full abstract.  A free copy of the article is available for download by clicking here .  Abstract White Collar Over-Criminalization: Deterrence, Plea Bargaining, and the Loss of Innocence , 101 Kentucky Law Journal 723 (2013). Overcriminalization takes many forms and impacts the American criminal justice system in varying ways. This article focuses on a select portion of this phenomenon by examining two types of overcriminalization prevalent in white collar criminal law. The first type of over criminalization discussed in this article is Congress’s propensity for increasing the maximum criminal penalties for white collar offenses in an effort to punish financial criminals more harshly while simultaneously deterring others. The second type of overcriminalization addressed is Congress...

I recently posted my article entitled "Pleading Innocents: Laboratory Evidence of Plea Bargaining's Innocence Problem" to SSRN for free download.  Below is the article's full abstract.  A free copy of the article is available for download by clicking here . Abstract Vanessa A. Edkins and Lucian E. Dervan, Pleading Innocents:   Laboratory Evidence of Plea Bargaining’s Innocence Problem , 21 Current Research in Social Psychology 14 (2013) (peer reviewed) We investigated plea bargaining by making students actually guilty or innocent of a cheating offense and varying the sentence that they would face if found ‘guilty’ by a review board. As hypothesized, guilty students were more likely than innocent students to accept a plea deal (i.e., admit guilt and lose credit; akin to accepting a sentence of probation) (Chi-square=8.63, p<.01) but we did not find an effect of sentence severity. Innocent students, though not as likely to plead as guilty students, showed an...

I recently posted my new article entitled "International White Collar Crime and Deferred Prosecution Agreements" on SSRN for free download.  The article examines deferred prosecution agreements in the U.S. and U.K., including close analysis of new rules regarding the use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements in the U.K.   Deferred prosecution agreements (“DPAs”) are negotiated settlements of criminal investigations entered into between the government and the investigated entity.   Typically, such agreements require an entity to admit wrongdoing, pay a substantial fine, and engage in remedial measures.   If an entity succeeds in satisfying the requirements of a DPA, the government agrees to dismiss any criminal charges that have been filed against the entity related to the matter.   While distinct from traditional plea bargaining because the defendant corporation does not enter a plea of guilty before a court, there is much overlap between these two types of negot...

I recently posted my new article entitled "The Quest for Finality: Five Stories of White Collar Criminal Prosecution" on SSRN for free download.  The article examines various negative outgrowths of our quest for finality in the criminal justice system, including our tendency to value finality over accuracy.  In valuing finality over accuracy, plea bargaining stands center stage.  Though this article focuses on the larger issue of "finality," it includes a lengthy discussion of plea bargaining and its role in our criminal justices system and might be of interest to readers of the blog. Below is the article's full abstract.  A free copy of the article is available for download by clicking here . Abstract Lucian E. Dervan, The Quest for Finality: Five Stories of White Collar Criminal Prosecution , 4 Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy 91 (2014) (symposium article). In this symposium article, Professor Dervan examines the issue of finalit...

I am pleased to announce that registration is now open for the upcoming ABA Criminal Justice Section conference regarding " White Collar Crime and Regulatory Trends in the European Union and U.S. "  The conference will occur in Amsterdam, Netherlands from May 15-16, 2014.  The first day will include a number of panel discussions examining important issues in the field. This conference will bring together a cadre of international experts to examine the most current, pressing, and difficult issues in the European Union and United States regarding this rapidly changing field. The panelists, emanating from numerous countries around the world, will address topics including: corporate espionage and cyber-crime; global internal investigations; securities laws and accompanying whistleblower programs; anti-corruption enforcement; money laundering and sanctions violations; and trends in enforcement and compliance. This conference seeks to offer invaluable insights regarding white...

I was recently interviewed by the Houston Chronicle regarding the case of Corey Anthony Love. It's more than likely that Corey Anthony Love has no earthly idea he has been found innocent of the crime to which he pleaded guilty seven years ago and for which he spent 105 days in state jail... Love was one of 87 listed in the annual report of the National Register of Exonerations, a joint project of the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Texas led the nation with 13 exonerations. His case was hardly the stuff of headlines and outrage. He did not spend decades in prison as an innocent man. He wasn't railroaded by an unscrupulous prosecutor or condemned to a life of hell by mistaken identity or shoddy forensic work. His was a minor drug offense. He pleaded guilty to the crime. He served relatively little time behind bars. But to the authors of the report, what makes Love's case, and the other six ...

I wanted to bring this incredible CLE/MCE opportunity to my readers' attention.  From May 31 through June 7, 2014, SIU School of Law will host a program in Germany entitled "Nuremberg's Legacy: Law, Medicine, & Ethics." The program description is below. During this week-long journey, travelers will visit Munich and Nuremberg to learn about the role of law, medicine, and ethics in Germany during and after WWII. Participants will have the opportunity to tour sites of legal and historical significance, including the courthouse in which the Nuremberg Trials occurred and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, and receive lectures from international experts in their fields. Along with a rich educational program, there will be time for independent sightseeing, including a visit to the picturesque Bavarian town of Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Registration is now open at this link . More information about the program is available here .