The Disappearing Jury Trial

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution states that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” Despite this constitutional right to be tried by a jury of your peers, many cases never make it to trial. Between 1962 and 2013, the percentage of jury trials in federal criminal cases decreased from 8.2% to 3.6%. This number continues to decline with recent statistics showing that in 2022, only 2.3% of defendants charged with federal crimes went to trial.

When a defendant is charged with a crime, it is the government who must prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt — which is the highest legal standard in our judicial system. However, as of late, prosecutors across the U.S. rarely have to bear that burden. According to the American Bar Association Plea Bargain Task Force, trials have become “rare legal artifacts in most U.S. jurisdictions, and even nonexistent in others,” with 98% of federal criminal cases ending in a plea bargain. Over the past several decades, there has been a growing interest to “save money and time and to promote certainty in outcomes.” But at what cost? The stark increase in plea deals pose a variety of issues including unchecked government misconduct, racial inequality, and even innocent defendants agreeing to falsely plead guilty. From the very beginning, our legal system has been premised on two important concepts: fairness and justice. However, one may question whether the U.S. legal system has embodied those concepts over the past few years.

When engaging in plea deal negotiations, prosecutors have broad discretion to pick which charges they bring — presenting criminal defendants with the illusion of a choice. Unwilling to risk the outcome at trial, most criminal defendants choose to plead guilty to secure what they perceive to be a more lenient sentence. However, once a defendant accepts a plea deal, they waive their right to a jury trial and prosecutors then assume the position of judge and jury. When we continue to allow prosecutors to play the role of judge and jury, the integrity and fairness of the criminal legal system is undermined because a defendant’s guilt is no longer established through an impartial process but is based solely on whether prosecutors are able to convince a defendant to accept a plea deal. In addition to checking prosecutorial discretion, we must continue to encourage defense attorneys to zealously advocate for their clients.