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What happened to trial rates and court backlogs when El Paso, Texas, banned plea bargaining from 1978 to 1984?
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Plea bargaining
A scene of the trials in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony, hand-colored engraving.
When El Paso, Texas, implemented a ban on plea bargaining from 1978 to 1984, the local justice system experienced significant operational strain. The ban resulted in the following impacts:
- Trial Rates: The number of trials doubled during this period.1
- Court Backlogs: The backlog of cases increased by 250 percent.1
These consequences were so severe that they necessitated a court reorganization, which allowed judges from civil courts to assist with the surge in criminal trials.1