Factors influencing plea bargaining decisions by prosecutors and defense attorneys

有大量的研究涉及与目击证人的准确性有关的因素，以及目击证人的证据对陪审员判断的影响。然而，这项研究在很大程度上忽略了大约90%的案件是通过辩诉交易解决的。现有的关于影响律师辩诉交易的因素的研究表明，决定是由对被告不利的证据的力量驱动的。检察官在证据不足时提出辩诉交易，辩护律师在证据充足时建议辩诉交易。目击证人指认证据的各个方面可能会影响律师的辩诉交易决定。然而，目前还不清楚律师是否对目击者证据质量的变化敏感。研究表明，律师报告说，他们意识到一些证人因素对鉴定准确性的影响，而对其他因素的影响缺乏了解。此外，辩护律师和检察官可能有不同程度的认识之间的关系，不同的证人因素和识别的准确性。因此，目前还不清楚目击者证据强度的变化将如何影响律师的实际行为。此外，还不知道其他法律的因素（即，审前宣传，被告的前科）将与目击证人的证据质量相互作用，影响律师的辩诉交易决定。 本研究包括两个研究，探讨影响辩诉交易决定的因素。研究1探讨了检察官和辩护律师是否对目击证人证据质量的变化敏感。与目击者的准确性有关的几个因素被操纵。在阅读案件摘要后，律师将评估他们提供/建议辩诉交易的意愿，以及如果案件进入审判阶段，他们对陪审团裁决的期望。研究2操纵目击证人指认证据的质量和其他可能影响辩诉交易行为的法律的因素的存在。

There is a large body of research concerning factors related to eyewitness accuracy and on the influence of eyewitness evidence on juror judgments. However, this research largely ignores that approximately 90 percent of cases are resolved through plea bargaining.Existing research on factors influencing attorneys' plea bargaining suggests decisions are driven by the strength of evidence against a defendant. Prosecutors offer a plea bargain when the evidence is weak and defense attorneys recommend a plea bargain when evidence is strong. It is possible that aspects of eyewitness identification evidence may influence attorneys' plea bargaining decisions. However, it is unclear whether attorneys are sensitive to variations in the quality of eyewitness evidence. Research indicates attorneys report awareness about the influence of some witnessing factors on identification accuracy while demonstrating a lack of knowledge about the influence of other factors. In addition, defense attorneys and prosecuting attorneys may have different levels of awareness of the relationships among different witnessing factors and identification accuracy. Thus, it is unclear how variations in eyewitness evidence strength will influence attorneys' actual behavior. In addition, it is not known how other legal factors (i.e., pretrial publicity, defendant's prior record) will interact with eyewitness evidence quality to influence attorneys' plea bargaining decisions. This project consists of two studies to investigate factors that influence plea bargaining decisions. Study 1 explores whether prosecutors and defense attorneys are sensitive to variations in the quality of eyewitness evidence. Several factors related to eyewitness accuracy are manipulated. After reading a case summary, attorneys will rate their willingness to offer/recommend a plea bargain and their expectations about a jury verdict if the case were to go to trial. Study 2 manipulates the quality of eyewitness identification evidence and the presence of other legal factors that may influence plea bargaining behavior.