Community and the trial penalty: An analysis from 40 jurisdictions

Abstract

Most scholarly literature indicates defendants are penalized if they decide to stand trial rather than plead guilty. Using data from 40 jurisdictions during 1992, a multiple regression analysis indicates that indeed choosing trial does tend to lengthen sentences. Sentences also tend to be longer in communities with more conservative ideologies and greater degrees of income inequality. These relationships persist even when controls are introduced for crime type and characteristics of the defendant.