Now that the first of former Honolulu businessman Mike Miske’s co-defendants has entered into a plea deal with prosecutors (along with six others who had not been charged in the Miske case but were related to his organization), it’s a good time to stop and take a look at what that means.

Here’s the first section of a report by the Pew Research Center on plea bargains in the federal system. It’s quite startling. The data show that almost all federal cases are settled by plea bargains. Only a small portion of cases actually go to trial, and a minuscule number of cases that go to trial end in a verdict of acquittal.

Only 2% of federal criminal defendants go to trial, and most who do are found guilty
BY JOHN GRAMLICH

Trials are rare in the federal criminal justice system – and acquittals are even rarer.

Trials are rare in the federal criminal justice system, and when they happen, most end in convictionsNearly 80,000 people were defendants in federal criminal cases in fiscal 2018, but just 2% of them went to trial. The overwhelming majority (90%) pleaded guilty instead, while the remaining 8% had their cases dismissed, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data collected by the federal judiciary.

Most defendants who did go to trial, meanwhile, were found guilty, either by a jury or judge. (Defendants can waive their right to a jury trial if they wish.)

Put another way, only 320 of 79,704 total federal defendants – fewer than 1% – went to trial and won their cases, at least in the form of an acquittal, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. These statistics include all defendants charged in U.S. district courts with felonies and serious misdemeanors, as well as some defendants charged with petty offenses. They do not include federal defendants whose cases were handled by magistrate judges, or the much broader universe of defendants in state courts. Defendants who enter pleas of “no contest” are also excluded.

Odds are, then, that more of those charged along with Miske are likely to be negotiating their own deals. Although the trial is currently scheduled to be held in September, there have already been discussions about another delay, and the willingness of defense attorneys to accept delays in some pending matters appears to signal they are not overly worried about time pressure of a trial just a few months away. So it’s likely the trial will be postponed, giving more time for these plea deal negotiations to conclude.

There are some clear down sides to this judicial system in which extremely long potential sentences are used to “extort” guilty pleas in the form of plea bargains. A report by the Vera Institute of Justice reviews examines existing research into the plea bargaining process and its dynamics and outcomes, and is worth scanning.

And if you’re into legalities, here are some court decisions on aspects of the plea bargaining process.