Pleading Out

“[a] well-reasoned polemic…. Full of persuasive evidence of how the courts are used by those in power to enforce the status quo, this is a cogent call for change.”—Publishers Weekly

“Pleading Out brings a new language, analysis, and urgency to this struggle.”
 —The Nation

“A full-throated denunciation of a judicial system grown lazy, complacent, and overly given to forcing confessions for its own convenience….A compelling document of interest to anyone concerned with civil rights and an equitable system of justice.”—Kirkus

The reality of the American criminal justice system, as Dan Canon illustrates, is that most defendants never get a trial, and instead are coerced into ‘plea bargains’ that are, principally, good deals for the state. Pleading Out offers a compelling critique of the practice of plea bargaining and a vision for abandoning it in order to reclaim criminal justice.—David Cole, national legal director, ACLU

To understand the tragic failure of American criminal justice, you must understand the scourge of plea bargaining. To understand plea bargaining, read this book. With riveting storytelling and sharp analysis, Canon describes the everyday monstrosity, unchecked and ruinous, lurking behind the legal system’s closed doors.—Adam Benforado, New York Times–bestselling author of Unfair

Canon questions a core tenet of American justice with a keen mind and sharp pen. Plea bargaining is held up as a necessary norm but Pleading Out exposes a system that is coercive and inequitable—while also offering hope for the future. This accessible book should be read by anyone who believes our legal system should be just.—Andrew L. Seidel, author of The Founding Myth

“Canon provides not only the statistics but powerful stories to demonstrate the extent to which plea bargaining has bankrupted the justice system.”
 —The Arts Fuse