LAW - 780 Plea Bargaining and Guilty Pleas Seminar

(2-3 hrs.)

Examines plea bargaining and guilty plea jurisprudence, theory, and practice. Students consider the debates over the utility, coercive aspects, and constitutionality of plea bargaining and guilty pleas. The course explores the role of the prosecutor, defender, and judge in plea bargaining, including ethical considerations for these institutional actors. Other topics include the collateral consequences of guilty pleas; procedural justice and cognitive bias in the plea process; and negotiation theory in the criminal context. Roberts Spring