Vanessa A. Edkins is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida Institute of Technology. Her research has been published in Law and Human Behavior, and Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Her work has also received coverage in the Wall Street Journal and The Economist.Allison D. Redlich is a Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. The author/editor of five books, she is an internationally recognized expert on confessions and interrogations, guilty pleas, and mental health courts, and publishes extensively in these areas.

• About the Contributors Introduction: A System of PleasVanessa A. Edkins and Allison D. Redlich Section 1: The System of Pleas and its Players Chapter 1: Arriving at a System of Pleas: The History and State of Plea BargainingLucian E. Dervan Chapter 2: Defendant Decision Making in Plea BargainsShawn D. Bushway Chapter 3: Defense Attorneys and Plea BargainsKelsey S. Henderson Chapter 4: Prosecutors and Plea BargainsBryan C. McCannon Section 2: Influences on Plea Decision-Making Chapter 5: Race and Plea BargainingBrian D. Johnson and Rebecca Richardson Chapter 6: Juvenile Justice and Plea BargainingAllison D. Redlich, Tina Zottoli, and Tarika Daftury-Kapur Chapter 7: Innocence and Plea BargainingMiko M. Wilford and Annmarie Khairalla Section 3: Results of a System of Pleas Chapter 8: Sentencing Disparity and Mass IncarcerationRhys Hester Chapter 9: Collateral Consequences and DisenfranchisementVanessa A. Edkins Conclusion: Moving Forward in a System of PleasAllison D. Redlich and Vanessa A. Edkins

The Supreme Court has recognized that the American criminal justice system is from beginning to end a system of bargained guilty pleas. The studies presented here provide a comprehensive tour of this system from pretrial detention and the pressures it exerts though the harsh and often undisclosed collateral consequences that follow seemingly beneficial plea agreements. This book examines in depth the decisions of prosecutors, defense attorneys, and defendants (both adults and juveniles), and it documents the sentencing disparities that keep the river of guilty pleas flowing. Once you've read this book, you'll understand what makes our system of criminal justice go.