(University of Oregon School of Law, 2024-05-01) Covey, Russell D.
This Article describes the lawless nature of the plea bargaining system. It argues that although there are bodies of law that deal with guilty pleas and aspects of procedure that are relevant to plea bargaining, there is very little law that regulates plea bargaining itself. This Article argues that these aspects of plea bargaining have contributed to some of the most dysfunctional aspects of modern criminal justice, including mass incarceration and an overindulgence in “assembly-line justice.”
