Judicial Settlement Conferences and Defendant Plea Decision-Making

This project examines the role of judicial settlement conferences, and how judicial involvement in plea negotiations influences defendants’ perceptions of the constitutionality of the plea and procedural justice, confidence ratings, and plea decisions. In an experimental study, mock defendants ( n = 620) participated in a 2 (defense attorney advice: explicit vs. no comment) × 2 (judge advice: explicit vs. no comment) + 1 (control group) between-subjects factorial design. Judicial advice and defense attorney advice did not significantly affect mock defendants’ plea decisions ( p s > .236) or confidence in their decision ( p s > .206). However, mock defendants who experienced a judicial settlement conference rated the procedural justice of the process higher ( p < .001) and were more likely to plead guilty than those who did not go through a settlement conference ( p = .016). Future research on expanded judicial involvement and the impacts on defendants’ plea decision-making is encouraged.