This article explores the extent to which considerations of risk are made among prosecutors and defense attorneys when advocating for given sentences in open court or during plea negotiations. The authors surveyed all prosecutors and defense attorneys in 14 judicial circuits in Virginia and found that most prosecutors and defense attorneys at least “sometimes” explicitly […]
Focus Area: Fairness in Criminal Outcomes
Wealth, Equality, and Due Process
“Equal process” claims arise from a line of Supreme Court and lower court cases in which wealth inequality is the central concern. That equal process connection is at the forefront of a wave of national litigation concerning some of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, including: the constitutionality of fines, fees, and […]
Risk and resources: A qualitative perspective on low‐level sentencing in Virginia
Anne Metz, John Monahan, Brandon Garrett, Luke Siebert in Journal of Community Psychology (2019). This article, co-authored by Faculty Director Brandon Garrett, explored the use of the Nonviolent Risk Assessment (NVRA) used in Virginia when judges sentenced people convicted of drug and property crimes. Read the article