Pandemic Plea Bargaining: COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies and Plea Decision Making

Despite the constitutional right to trial, the vast majority of defendants waive this right and enter a guilty plea. There are many factors defendants consider when entering a plea, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic being the newest factor that may impact defendant decision making. Previous research has found that both innocent and guilty participant defendants were more likely to plead guilty when provided information on COVID-19 outbreaks. Additionally, innocent defendants ranked concerns related to COVID-19 higher than guilty defendants in driving their plea decisions. As the pandemic continues to evolve, so do the various policies and tactics used to reduce transmission rates. This thesis expands on previous work by employing an experimental plea simulation on a college sample to see how varying levels of COVID-19 mitigation strategies in a jail setting impact plea decision making. Varying levels of COVID-19 mitigation efforts on their own did not significantly impact plea decision making; however, presenting COVID-19 related information did increase the willingness to accept a guilty plea more generally. Given the possibility of innocent defendants pleading guilty, this thesis demonstrates the importance of reforming the application of pretrial detention and calls for more oversight into plea negotiations.