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: Legal Blog Watch

A Prosecutor's Perspective on the Fraction of Criminal Cases That Go to Trial

By Eric Lipman

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D.A. Confidential, a refreshingly candid, well-written and insightful blog by Travis County Assistant District Attorney Mark Pryor (that should cover me if I ever get a ticket for jaywalking, the worst offense I'd ever even consider committing here in my adopted hometown), has a good post this morning attempting to explain why so few cases, particularly misdemeanor cases, get to the "The people may call their first witness" stage. Unlike on TV, where a trial is not only a foregone conclusion, but also usually happens within two Pepsi commercials of arrest. The percentage is shockingly low, at least based on Pryor's own experience. Of the 500 to 600 cases he estimates he's resolved as a prosecutor, he can count the number of trials on one hand (assuming he has five fingers, which I have no reason to doubt). The reasons for the low number, though, are the real meat of the post, and worth thinking about. Among them, prosecutorial discretion intelligently exercised. Pryor says that he's not shy about dismissing cases where the evidence just doesn't seem convincing. The cynical might attribute this to a desire to keep that conviction rate up, but this ADA certainly doesn't have a problem...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on February 23, 2010 (boomark / email).