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Punishment without trial? It's the new normal

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Punishment without trial? It's the new normal

Most Americans believe that criminal defendants usually get a trial. 97% don't.

Bob Zadek
Nov 26, 2022
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Punishment without trial? It's the new normal

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“How do you plea?”

It’s the first question the judge asks you in a criminal trial. But before the accused even has a chance to answer “guilty” or “not guilty,” there is another, prior legal proceeding that rarely gets talked about – even though it pre-empts the need for a trial in 97% of convictions. Jury trials were one of the founders’ critical safeguards against the tyranny of overzealous government prosecutors. Thomas Jefferson viewed the institution as the most vital form of democracy – above the ability to vote for legislators. And yet the American legal system has largely abandoned this bedrock principle in favor of the “efficiency” of the plea bargain.

Carissa Hessick is the director of the Prosecutors and Politics Project, Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, and author of an important new book, Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal.

Buy the book

Professor Hessick joins me to explain how this practice persists as the norm, while jury trials have been turned into a rare exception. What would the Founders say about this state of affairs? And why hasn’t the Supreme Court done something about it?

Here is a concise summary of the book, including my own highlights, for those who wish to enrich their listening experience:

Essential Liberty
Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal.
📚 Subscribe to join my weekly Book Club for summaries of popular libertarian titles. 🖼️ Big Picture 👉 97% of convictions come from plea bargains. Most cases have been decided this way for some time but the trend is getting much worse. As courts become more “efficient” we end up with a larger and larger prison population…
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10 months ago · Bob Zadek

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Tune in – November 28, 8-9 am PACIFIC to the show of ideas, not attitude.


ICYMI… The Real Reason for Occupational Licensing

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Bob Zadek @rzadek
Dick M. Carpenter II from @IJ explains who demands occupational licensing on the show of ideas – Listen online or read the transcript bobzadek.substack.com/p/new-data-sho…
2:00 AM ∙ Nov 24, 2022

Who actually asks for occupational licensing? It’s not the customers in most industries. It’s the established businesses that fear fresh competition. Dick Carpenter explained on last week’s show. Listen or read the transcript:

Essential Liberty
New data shows that occupational licensing does nothing to increase quality
Listen now (53 min) | The Bob Zadek Show is the country's longest running libertarian broadcast – nationally streamed at 8 AM Pacific Time Sundays on 860 AM, the Answer. Visit BobZadek.com for more than a decade of archived shows, resources, and a library of libertarian book summaries. We strive to offer in-depth content on social, political, and economic issues that really …
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10 months ago · 2 likes · Bob Zadek
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Punishment without trial? It's the new normal

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