Investigating Predictors of True and False Guilty Pleas

This study analyzes the impact of attorney/advocate recommendations on pleading guilty. The piece discusses the role of the attorney and the effect of social influences, then introduces the academic dishonesty scenario used to conduct the study. The results indicated that advocate recommendation had a slightly stronger impact on innocent defendants than guilty defendants. Innocent participants whose advocate recommended going to trial plead guilty significantly less than those who received all other recommendations. Additionally, innocent participants whose advocates recommended a guilty plea were 14.5 times more likely to falsely plead guilty than those whose advocates recommended going to trial.  The authors conclude that defense attorneys are a source of social influence on a defendant’s plea decisions.

“In this study, we found that advocate recommendation influenced both innocent and guilty individuals’ plea decisions (although the effect was stronger for innocent individuals). This study contributes to our knowledge of attorney recommendations in plea decision-making by showing that attorneys who advocate for their client to go to trial may lower false guilty plea rates.” p. 440