Prof. Murray Publishes Op-Ed on Plea Bargaining in New York Times

Professor JaneAnne Murray published an op-ed in the New York Times addressing the issue of plea bargaining. The Supreme Court called our criminal justice system "a system of pleas" in 2012, she writes, but there is little that is systematic about the plea bargaining processes that determine who goes to prison and for how long. Murray's piece addressed the popular podcast, Serial, which examined the conviction of Adnan Syed for the strangulation of his former girlfriend when he was seventeen. Citing the work of Professor Barry Feld, she notes that Mr. Syed's age also impacted his competence to participate in his legal proceedings, putting a special onus on his lawyer, or the system, to ensure that he was fully apprised of the consequences of the decisions he made in his case. She highlights a recent proposal by Judge Jed Rakoff for judicial involvement in plea negotiations as a possible reform.