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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Right To Counsel: Criminal Prosecution In 19th Century London, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Porreca
The Right To Counsel: Criminal Prosecution In 19th Century London, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Porreca
Faculty & Staff Scholarship
Exploiting a novel data set of criminal trials in 19th century London, we evaluate the impact of an accused’s right to counsel on convictions. While lower-level crimes had an established history of professional representation prior to 1836, individuals accused of committing a felony did not, even though the prosecution was conducted by professional attorneys. The Prisoners’ Counsel At of 1836 remedied this and first introduced the right to counsel in common law systems. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy we identify the causal effect of defense counsel. We find the surprising result that the professionalization of the courtroom lead to an …
Three Golden Balls: Pawn Shops And Crime, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Rodriguez, Zachary Porreca
Three Golden Balls: Pawn Shops And Crime, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Rodriguez, Zachary Porreca
Faculty & Staff Scholarship
We ask what the relationship is between pawn shops and crime. The dominant narrative is that pawn shops reduce the transaction costs of crime and, consequently, promote it. We explore the alternative where pawn shops address the financial distress of those in need, which reduces the incentive to engage in crime. We exploit two distinct policies affecting access to pawn shops − severe licensing fees implemented in London in the early 1800s and state variation in the classification of pawn shops as essential businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020. For each, employing a difference-in-difference identification strategy, we provide …