Marquette Law Review Conferences

Ever since the constitutionality of the practice was first established in the 1970s, plea bargaining has been the subject of fierce academic debate. Despite the objections of many prominent scholars, however, the negotiated resolution of criminal cases has become only more commonplace over the past three decades. Scholars are now increasingly turning their attention from the threshold question of whether plea bargaining should be permitted at all to a consideration of what rules and practices might enhance transparency and accountability, diminish coerciveness and the risk of wrongful conviction, and better address the needs of victims. While the study of plea bargaining has traditionally been regarded as the domain of criminal law scholars and practitioners, many of the most important questions now being debated closely parallel the sorts of questions that dispute resolution scholars have long studied in the context of civil litigation.

The Marquette Plea Bargaining Conference thus brings together a distinguished group of scholars from both the criminal law and dispute resolution fields for a unique, interdisciplinary discussion of plea bargaining. Topics to be addressed include: the relationship between substantive law and negotiated outcomes, the effects of cognitive bias on plea negotiation, and the connection between plea bargaining and victim-offender mediation. Additionally, in order to bring to bear the insights of practitioners, the Conference will also feature a roundtable discussion of leaders in the criminal justice field in Wisconsin.