Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is A Bad Deal, Jacob Burns Center For Ethics In The Practice Of Law

Event Invitations 2021

When Americans think of the criminal justice system, they picture a trial. The right to a trial by jury is supposed to undergird our entire justice system – but that bedrock constitutional right has all but disappeared thanks to plea bargaining. In 2018, more than 97 percent of defendants pleaded guilty.

In Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is A Bad Deal, Carissa Byrne Hessick makes the case against plea bargaining and illustrates why we need to fix it if we ever hope to achieve lasting criminal justice reform.

Join the Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice …

The Covid-19 Pandemic, Diversity And Inclusion, And The Practice Of Law, Jacob Burns Center For Ethics In The Practice Of Law

Event Invitations 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed preexisting weaknesses in many areas of life and the law. In April 2021, the ABA published a study entitled Practicing Law in the Pandemic and Moving Forward: Results and Best Practices From a Nationwide Survey of The Legal Profession. The results of this study confirmed what many women and people of color already knew – standard approaches to the workplace do not serve goals of diversity and inclusion, especially during times of great stress and financial uncertainty.

On November 8th, the Burns Center will host the authors of this study and JoAnne Epps, Senior …