ACS Washington State: "Pleading Out": A Conversation with Professor Dan Canon

Please join the ACS Washington State Lawyer Chapter in person at Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum for a talk by Dan Canon, Professor of Law at the University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, about his new book, Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class.

Most Americans believe that the jury trial is the backbone of our criminal justice system. But in fact, the vast majority of cases never make it to trial: almost all criminal convictions are the result of a plea bargain, a deal made entirely out of the public eye.

A blistering critique of America’s assembly-line approach to criminal justice, Professor Canon argues that plea bargaining may swiftly dispose of cases, but it also fuels an unjust system. Professor Canon argues this practice produces a massive underclass of people who are restricted from voting, working, and otherwise participating in society. And while innocent people plead guilty to crimes they did not commit in exchange for lesser sentences, the truly guilty can get away with murder.

With heart-wrenching stories, fierce urgency, and an insider’s perspective, in his book Professor Canon exposes the ugly truth about what’s wrong with America’s criminal justice system today—and offers a prescription for meaningful change.

You can find more information about Pleading Out here.

Featuring:

Dan Canon, Professor of Law, University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law