The Role of Bias in Economic Models of Law

Behavioral economics has highlighted the impact of various biases on economic outcomes. This essay reviews how biases have been incorporated into economic models of the law and the resulting implications for the assessment of different legal rules and policies. It focuses on two contexts. The first concerns biases that affect consumer purchases of risky products. Using a standard accident model that incorporates various forms of consumer bias, we discuss how bias can affect the efficient assignment of liability for product-related accidents. The second context concerns biases that affect the administration of law, particularly regarding the adjudication of guilt, the lawmaking function of trials, and criminal sentencing. We examine procedural rules like precedent and sentencing guidelines, both of which are aimed at curtailing judicial bias.

When in Rome... on Local Norms and Sentencing Decisions

ABSTRACT We study spatial variation in criminal sentencing. We show the existence of local sentencing practices varying widely even across geographically proximate areas. Using compulsory rotation of judges in North Carolina, we find that judges arriving in a new court gradually converge towards local sentencing practices. We provide evidence that convergence in sentencing corresponds to a process of learning about local practices, which is accelerated by the presence of senior judges in the district, and that these sentencing practices are correlated with local norms of behavior. Finally, we discuss the theoretical implications of these results for the optimal design of judicial systems.

Selecting Charges

Prosecutorial discretion in charge selection has far-reaching consequences throughout the criminal adjudication process. Through their initial charging decisions, prosecutors not only determine who will be subject to the state’s penal power—they also define the terms under which defendants will strategize and negotiate to mitigate their potential punishment. This chapter provides an overview of the criminal charging process, including the legal parameters within which prosecutors exercise their charging discretion and how that discretion is exercised in practice. The chapter begins with a discussion of constitutional limits on the power to initiate criminal charges, as well as limits on the severity of charges. We describe how formal legal structures governing criminal sentencing interact with prosecutors’ power and incentives at the charging stage. We then review both the empirical literature documenting variations in charging practices and the key theoretical explanations for those variations. Finally, we summarize recent research suggesting that prosecutorial charging decisions may be a key driver of the carceral trends that define mass incarceration. The chapter concludes with reflections and recommendations regarding future lines of research on prosecutorial charging practices.

Jack Weinstein

This essay, for a symposium issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter dedicated to the impact of Judge Jack Weinstein on the occasion of his retirement from the federal bench, highlights how Judge Weinstein has re-imagined the role of the district court judge. Through his judicial opinions, extrajudicial writings and speeches, and his innovative use of the court’s supervisory authority, Judge Weinstein has challenged, and in some cases altered, the status quo in the realm of criminal sentencing. In doing so, he has established a forceful example of how district court judges can use their position to advocate for and effect reform more broadly in the system they are called upon to administer – an example that some other judges already have embraced. In his scholarship, Judge Weinstein also has turned his critical lens inward and examined whether this work is consistent with the judicial role. He concludes that it is, but offers valuable guidance for other judges considering following in his footsteps for how to do so in a way that minimizes concerns about partiality. In the end, Judge Weinstein concludes that such work is not only permissible but required when judges perceive injustice. Few will be as creative, prolific, or persuasive as Judge Weinstein has been. But he leaves behind a fully articulated vision of an active district court judge and invites other judges to consider the kind of judge they want to be given the limits and possibilities that accompany their position.