Over Aggressive Prosecutors are the Real Reason for Mass Incarceration

[dps]

I'm not convinced it's a problem, really.  If people want the prison population to decline, we should readily execute more criminals.

Fixed. 

For murderers, that works fine with me.

[Siege]

I don't have to be elected, and I have no idea what my "conviction rate" is.  Literally - it's never been tracked in any of the offices I've worked in.

Whoa man, that's is a huge oversight.
You should definitively know how effective you perform, so you can train to improve your weakneses.

[Tonitrus]

He should only be concerned that justice is done. 

[MadImmortalMan]

Whoa man, that's is a huge oversight.
You should definitively know how effective you perform, so you can train to improve your weakneses.

His effectiveness is not measured in convictions.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't believe BB when he says he has "no idea" what his conviction rate is. When I'd go shoot hoops, I had a pretty good idea what percentage I was making even when I didn't keep count.

[crazy canuck]

I don't believe BB when he says he has "no idea" what his conviction rate is. When I'd go shoot hoops, I had a pretty good idea what percentage I was making even when I didn't keep count.

You probably are not shooting that many hoops    The best I could ever tell you is that I shot well or I had a bad day.  When I go shoot with the boys and we put up several hundred shots I have no idea what my percentage might be.  And that is on a stat that has some meaning to a basketball player.  BB is in a similar situation, he does a large number of cases but his conviction rate is not a meaningful stat for him and so I would be very surprised if he knew even a rough percentage.

[Barrister]

I don't believe BB when he says he has "no idea" what his conviction rate is. When I'd go shoot hoops, I had a pretty good idea what percentage I was making even when I didn't keep count.

It depends on how you measure it.

If you want to measure it on "what percentage of files with my name on it result in a conviction" the % would be pretty high, because most files wind up in guilty pleas.  Hell I may never see a file in between the time my name goes on it, and the time the person pleads out.  So I have no idea.

If you want to measure it on "what percentage of files with my name on it set for trial result in a conviction" I again would not really know.  An appreciable % of those don't proceed because the person pleads guilty, or doesn't show for trial, or witnesses don't show.  And while I'm present for those situations, I just don't have a good idea what the numbers look like.

If you want to measure "What percentage of trials that I start result in a conviction", I'm going to guess maybe 60%, but it's a wild-assed guess.

[CountDeMoney]

If you want to measure "What percentage of trials that I start result in a conviction", I'm going to guess maybe 60%, but it's a wild-assed guess.

I suppose that % sounds about right, if you include all the other possible outcomes, like Not Guilty, nolle prosc'd, stets, Alford pleas, outright dismissals, diversionary PBJs, etc.

[derspiess]

diversionary PBJs

Yum.

[Barrister]

If you want to measure "What percentage of trials that I start result in a conviction", I'm going to guess maybe 60%, but it's a wild-assed guess.

I suppose that % sounds about right, if you include all the other possible outcomes, like Not Guilty, nolle prosc'd, stets, Alford pleas, outright dismissals, diversionary PBJs, etc.

Other than "not guilty" I don't understand what any of those other ones are! 

Once the trial starts, there's really only about three possible outcomes: finding of not guilty, finding of guilty on some or all of the counts, and a judicial "stay of proceedings" because the judge has found some egregious breach of the Accused's charter rights.

[frunk]

Yum.

Diversion successful!

[CountDeMoney]

Other than "not guilty" I don't understand what any of those other ones are! 

Oh, all the other procedural bullshit options that a case can come to:  NP is deciding not to pursue the charges at the time of trial, the stet docket is the inactive docket (prosecution declines to pursue the charges at that time, but has one year to open them up again if it wishes), Alford is the plea the defendant can make claiming innocence while admitting that the state has enough evidence to find a guilty verdict, Probation Before Judgement like rehab, community service, etc, etc.

So many different ways of fucking somebody over in America's Penal-Industrial Complex, rather than just being found "Guilty".  LOL, "Penal-Industrial"  MARTI SAYS WHAT