The La Crosse Tribune is running a series of articles on plea agreements – “how plea agreements are forged, why they have become a fixture in the courts and what they bring to our legal system.”
According to The Tribune, only about one percent of felony cases in La Crosse County make it to trial compared to about three percent state-wide.
The paper also states, however, that despite a decreasing number of trials, La Crosse County has more than doubled its trial budgeting and spending in the past decade, mostly due to a dramatic increase in court-appointed attorney costs.
Articles in the series so far:
- Pleading for justice – Monday, November 19, 2007
- Plea deals make courts efficient – Sunday, November 18, 2007
- Trials are fewer, but costs are on the rise – Sunday, November 18, 2007
Source: The Wheeler Report