How Accurately Do Eyewitnesses Determine if a Person is Familiar and How Does this Affect Plea Bargaining Decisions by Prosecution and Defense Attorneys?

This research project examines strength of evidence by studying the impact of prosecutor and defender assumptions regarding race/ethnicity, casual nonstranger familiarity, and eyewitness evidence on plea bargaining. NIJ selected Experiment 2 which collects information from deputy district attorneys (n=125) and deputy public defenders (n=125) in Los Angeles and other CA sites in response to store/residential robbery scenarios varying on eyewitness/suspect, race/ethnicity and whether the eyewitness reported having previously seen the perpetrator casually. Responses include probability of winning trial, defendant guilt, plea recommendation, and plea bargain; if an eyewitness says they saw the perpetrator before, are prosecutors less likely, and are defenders more likely, to recommend a plea bargain because they assume this evidence is deemed strong?

CA/NCF