Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class

by Dan Canon

A blistering critique of America’s assembly-line approach to criminal justice and the shameful practice at its core: the plea bargain  Most Americans believe that the jury trial is the backbone of our criminal justice system. But in fact, the vast majority of cases never make it to trial: almost all criminal convictions are the result of a plea bargain, a deal made entirely out of the public eye.  Law professor and civil rights lawyer Dan Canon argues that plea bargaining may swiftly dispose of cases, but it also fuels an unjust system. This practice produces a massive underclass of people who are restricted from voting, working, and otherwise participating in society. And while innocent people plead guilty to crimes they did not commit in exchange for lesser sentences, the truly guilty can get away with murder.  With heart-wrenching stories, fierce urgency, and an insider’s perspective,  Pleading Out  exposes the ugly truth about what’s wrong with America’s criminal justice system today—and offers a prescription for meaningful change.    

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

336 pages, Hardcover

Published March 8, 2022

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scant Documentation Makes A Weaker Case. First, I generally agree with the author's overall points here, even while disagreeing with his more leftist slants on a lot of his recommendations - unionizing prison inmates among them. But even in cases such as here where I generally agree, I have a history of judging a book based on the actual merits of the actual arguments and verifications therein, and this book simply doesn't hold up. Its Bibliography (at least in the Advance Review Copy form) is barely 15% of the text, which is about half the norm and maybe 1/3 the length of the Bibliography of truly well documented treatises. And while the author's career experience as a litigating attorney can account for some of it, even here - provide at least some documentation for your claims, so that those who *don't* have that background can verify them. But the lack of documentation is the primary argument here for overall lack of persuasiveness. Furthermore, another star was deducted for ultimately not satisfying the overall premise as laid out in the description - which admittedly is a combined effort of both author and publisher, and not always in the author's hands. Still, the description here proposes that the book argues that plea bargaining "produces a massive underclass of people who are restricted from voting, working, and otherwise participating in society"... and while Canon occassionally makes reference to this, he never really establishes that particular line of reasoning here. Indeed, for *that* side of the criminal justice system there really are a few other vastly superior texts that have released over the last few years. Instead, Canon more takes these as a given - again, with little documentation - and argues - with little documentation - that plea bargaining is the chief cause of this. As stated at the beginning of this review, while I *generally* agree with this line of reasoning, I simply expect a better documented (and ultimately more evenly argued) presentation of this, particularly in a book released to a wide audience, including those who may be predisposed to *not* agreeing with the argument for any number of reasons. Still, ultimately a worthy read that at least adds yet another voice to the conversation, and for that reason it is very much recommended.

[Teal Veyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my GOSH, this book! I think it takes a really special kind of non-fiction to make you want to get up and go become an activist. Maybe I was already primed to make this a new cause to bang on about, seeing as I've had such horrible experiences in the mental health system, but yeah, I'm over here rethinking a LOT.

The criminal justice system is a mess. We need prosecution reform and police reform yesterday.

I freaking teared up when the author pointed out that the mentally ill and the homeless aren't ever tried by their true peers, because the mentally ill and homeless rarely serve on juries. The author also points out that police shouldn't be the ones responding to mental health situations. I have had police respond to my mental health situations and I agree! I was put in handcuffs for trying to sign myself out of a *cough* "voluntary" hold in a psych unit. They drove me two hours away to a different psych hospital. I went to court to get committed, but I was so damn drugged out of my mind (involuntarily drugged) that I couldn't say much in my own defense. Someone sat at the table with me and I guess they were my public defender? They didn't do much though.
Anyway, yeah, why the overlap between the criminal justice system and the mental health system?

At every point in this point, when the author mentions people with mental health issues he does so with respect. He talks about the mentally ill as people deserving of dignity and autonomy. He talks about the tragedy that the mentally ill do not serve on juries.

I almost teared up reading this. It really means so much to me when people who aren't severely mentally ill view the mentally ill as human. I know, I know, the bar is low. It's down in hell. Well, the author didn't put it there and I just really loved the way he addresses mental illness in this book.

All in all, the book taught me a ton about the problems with plea bargaining. I had no idea that so many cases were resolved with pleas or that the accused could be penalized for refusing to plead guilty. The concept of a "trial penalty" is horrifying.

Thank you so much to this author for this well-researched, moving, and bipartisan book. I'm going to be looking into some of the criminal justice reform organizations mentioned in the final chapter and seeing if there are any ways that I can get involved.

If this author ever wrote a book covering the systemic issues of the mental health system or focusing more intently on the overlap between the criminal justice system and mental health system I'd probably die of happiness. Just saying.

[chaptersbydani · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What we have inherited is an amoral system of criminal proceedings; it cannot be called criminal justice….. So why not look at the faults— and yes, the motives— of the system itself? Would a system devoted to high-minded principles of fairness and justice produce these results?”

This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint. This book fills a much-needed gap in legal literature. There are, of course, many books on criminal justice reform and countless books that also take aim at plea bargaining. What makes Pleading Out different is that this is effectively a “one stop shop”, written to be accessible to legal professional and layman alike, for those who want to learn about the plea-bargaining system. Canon strips away the elitism of the legal profession to rope everyone into the conversation.

Despite filling a much-needed gap, I feel that a lot of people aren’t going to be ready for Pleading Out. Pointing out that the law has been used as a weapon to control the poor, that plea bargaining is a powerful weapon of control, and that the plea-bargaining system should be eradicated in the interest of justice and fairness is a bold stance. After all, Americans-- especially lawyers— do not seem to welcome change and Canon is taking aim at a system that has become so normalized that most cannot even begin to fathom criminal justice without it. Canon isn’t trying to make friends with this book; judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police officers, politicians/ legislators, and even laypeople are each thoroughly analyzed for their role in perpetuating a faulty system. It is going to put people on the defensive. It takes that boldness to create meaningful change though and Canon has certainly set the ball rolling here.

There are a lot of things that I love and are done really well in this book:
* Thorough legal, historical, and sociopolitical analysis of the development, implementation, and effects of plea bargaining.
* Accessible and understandable language. Yes, I mentioned it earlier. It’s worth mentioning again. Canon is a master at breaking down complex legal concepts so that anyone, regardless of background, can understand.
* Highlighting of cases and stories of folks who would have otherwise been forgotten to time or lost in the fray of the criminal justice system. This is something that I particularly appreciate. Dan Canon never loses sights of the individuals caught in the system.
* Canon also pulls from the wisdom of activists, attorneys, judges, and scholars all over the country. I particularly appreciate the effort to highlight the work of brilliant minds from Kentucky.
* Canon’s respect and kindness for the people he discusses in the book.
* Most importantly, the solutions and the frank discussion of their likelihood of success and the work it takes to implement them. Shots of hope like this—especially from an attorney who, amongst civil rights and criminal law practice, has done movement lawyering—is needed and inspiring.

It is no exaggeration when I say that I believe that every human on American soil should read this at some point. I have seen some complaints in other reviews and, frankly, I think those reviewers either didn’t read the book of simply missed the entire point of the book but I want to address them here.
* “Leftist agenda”—Canon does throw around terms like “class solidarity,” “worker solidarity,” and “grassroots advocacy” which obviously incites pearl clutching, screaming, and creates a demand for smelling salts in today’s society (/s if not obvious). Canon begins his analysis not with plea bargaining specifically but with the purpose of laws and the development of the common law legal system. Canon, rightfully, argues that the point of a legal system is for the elite ruling class to control the lower classes. He starts this argument at the signing of the Magna Carta and continues it to the modern day. He includes legal, historical, and sociopolitical data in this analysis. Canon also looks to and consults people all over the political spectrum that have diverse backgrounds in this book. While Canon does have his own opinions (which he is clear about), Pleading Out is far from a leftist manifesto.
* Citations/ Depth of Research: I’ve seen this issue on two points so I will address both.
- First is the depth of research. Canon pulls on a well of resources but is the first to admit that actual statistical data quantifying aspects of the plea-bargaining system is hard to come by because of the nature of plea bargaining—there is nobody tracking the number of backroom deals that take place by day per jurisdiction. That said, this book does not lack statistical data, nor is it short on other sources. Canon relies on numerous cases, studies, and the experiences of legal professionals around the country.
- Secondly is the actual number of citations. I am going to hazard a guess that this is coming from someone in the legal community who is used to “Id.” being sprinkled around like confetti on a kid’s ice cream sundae. At no point was I confused on what Canon was citing. He was very clear where data points, quotes, and facts came from. It is all right there in the text and footnotes. I am not going to fault him for not creating a visual train wreck in a book meant to also appeal to laymen who may or may not know what “Id.” means as a citation.

All in all, this is a masterpiece. It is well researched, highly persuasive, and thorough in analysis. Easy five stars and I highly recommend grabbing a copy.

[Ryan Cutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan does a great job laying out the horrors of the US criminal Justice system with facts and actually stories of what occurred. This is not a book of opinion but accurately lays out what is happening every day in the US courts and how systematic change is needed in order for all people to be given the opportunity for freedom and to pursue their goals and dreams.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read. Great insight into the criminal legal system. Not as strong in solutions. But still amazing

[mib6475654 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book! I found the writing to be very insightful and interesting. I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

[Nette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me first say that I am not involved in the legal profession, so I was not prepared for what Dan Canon dropped in front of my eyes with Pleading Out. You see, in legal shows on television, you get the idea that they offer you a plead deal when they don't have enough evidence to charge you with the crime you actually committed but because you are a danger to society and you have committed a crime they must keep you behind bars. When I tell you that plea deals are not that at all in the actual situation that we live in. Dan Canon gives you every single argument you can ever have regarding oversight of judges, police officers, and prosecutors, let's not forget those "overworked" defense attorneys that don't bother to properly represent their clients. Plea deals are taking away our constitutional right to have a trial and to have a jury "of our peers", (I put that in quotation marks because we've seen how they even mess that up). Dan Canon is letting the public know that this is happening, that the justice system is failing its citizens, and we should be appalled by it, I know I am. Pleading Out made me see things more clearly and I hope everyone gets a chance to read this book because there has to be something that can be done as mere citizens regarding this attack, we need to hold these entities responsible, whether it's with our vote, the people need access to some sort of directory to check the status of whomever you are paying to represent you or even who is told to represent you. The prosecutors that punish because the individual chooses to take the case to trial should no longer be commended by the police or anyone for that matter, this isn't a competition of who lands more people in jail, it needs to stop and we need to find a way for this to stop before it gets worst and I find that it's very close to that worst part than we can ever begin to imagine. Thank you to Dan Canon for writing Pleading Out, for outlining all of the things that need our attention.

[Bernadette Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

How horrible everything is but maybe we can fix it ... explained at the bar or coffee shop

I guess the most eye opening aspect of this book is how easy it would be for any of us to find ourselves as a criminal under the current system of justice in the U.S.
Mr. Canon does a great job of lying out the twisting history that has lead us to our current state. How the system itself pushes the people in it ( cops, prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, accused) to all make some assumptions that are not necessarily true. Assumptions that most of the rest of the world doesn't make. It is a pretty grim picture.

But maybe if we could just tweak a few of those assumptions a little here or there we could get closer to a more just criminal justice system.

[Beth Bissmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've somehow made it this far in life without understanding that the U.S. legal system is unjust, have I got the book for you!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you think of a system of justice that convicted 95 to 97% of accused criminals without ever involving a jury, permanently removed the accused's right of appeal, facilitated the creation of thousands of new crime laws and turned police, prosecutors and judges into a machine for coercing arrestees into convicting themselves whether they're actually guilty of anything or not? If that sounds Orwellian and nightmarish, it is- but it's also the reality of the modern American criminal "justice" system under a regime in which plea bargaining has effectively entirely replaced the jury trial.
Canon, a legal scholar and civil rights attorney, delves into the origins of the plea bargain as a tool for the suppression of organized labor, documents its speedy adoption by state and local governments during Prohibition, and demonstrates how a newly empowered law enforcement state, fired with "tough on crime" and "war on drugs" rhetoric, justified its continued existence by inventing more crimes to charge people with. As a result, plea bargaining became further entrenched into the legal system to the point where the jury trial, enshrined in the Constitution, is an endangered species. In the process, nearly one in five Americans has been saddled with a criminal record that in many cases prevents them from working, voting or getting housing.
Despite this bleak outlook, Canon does suggest that there can be hope, particularly in local and grassroots activism, for reversing this trend and its inimical effects on American society, and outlines a few steps that could be taken to at least start these processes. He is realistic, however, that the struggle is an uphill and long one, with no guarantee of success.
All that said, "Pleading Out" is engagingly written- Canon has a gift for weaving anecdote and personal experience into the Kafkaesque stories of the legal sausage machine. Individual case histories serve to clearly exemplify each of the key stumbling blocks and problems with plea-bargain "justice" he identifies, and frame the exposition of their history and complexity. It is not a comfortable read, but a necessary one, and if the solutions it suggests are not implemented, may well turn out to be a prophetic one.

[Sarah Blessing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally books about the criminal justice system would not be on my book shelf; however, this one was different. If everyone in America read this book, we could make the country better.

Did you know around 97% of people who are arrested do not receive a trial by jury? Instead these people are rushed through a system that mostly forces them to take a plea bargain that ends up hurting them for the rest of their lives. Did you know one third of adults in America get arrested at some point in their lifetime? Why does this happen? How can this be stopped?

That is the essence of this book. Why is our criminal justice system so broken? How did we get here? How do we fix these major problems in a country that is supposed to allow its citizens a right to a fair trial?

Now I know why rich and famous people get away with horrible crimes while the poor suffer years in a jail cell for tiny offenses. Our system rewards quantity of cases and not quality of who is being tried. Thank you Dan Canon for explaining this problem in an entertaining way that someone who isn’t involved in law could understand.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea

I learned a lot doesn’t go far enough with this book. First, the writing is amazing and crystal clear. The background and incredible research that went into these pages was comprehensive and inspiring. Last, I learned a lot about my ignorance of the state of our judicial system and its roots. I think this book should be required reading in schools. Knowing what’s wrong helps, if there can be defined actions to take. This was an eye opener and a brilliant read. Thank you, Team Canon! I think I get it.

[Matt]

Class is the key word here. Canon explores the development of plea bargains through class analysis. The elites and status quo power could not accept liberalizing the jury box, so they instead opted to (de facto) get rid of it. Throughout the book, Canon pulls back to this being the same force that curtailed the American labor movement.

We've created a class of undesirables and untouchables, and we make them brand themselves as such. Then because we forced them into branding themselves, we deny them any appeals or rights. Forced into signing away your own soul.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really explained the downward spiral plea bargaining has caused in our justice system and really shines a light on the ongoing racism in our country. I am by no means a lawyer, and I feel this book is accessible to all with an interest and not just those with legal expertise. I highly recommend this book. I enjoy this author’s writing style as well. He is able to inject humor and personal experience.

[Scott Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in a while. It's well written with great metaphors and analogies. It has great stories/anecdotes illustrating the problem. And it is a clear indictment of our criminal injustice system. It was eye-opening.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for every citizen. Most people have no idea how our “Justice” system actually works nowadays…until they find themselves victims of it. It’s time to drastically reduce the use of plea deals.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew our (U.S.) legal system was dysfunctional (everyone seems to know this, although opinions differ as to why/how), but this book blew my mind with the nitty-gritty details of how screwed up plea bargaining really is, in its origins, practice, and impacts. Written in layman's terms by an expert.

[Tedi Beemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

essential, and even, mostly interesting!!!!!!!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think every attorney and anyone interested in the criminal justice system should read this. Incredibly interesting.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know nothing about the plea bargaining system in the US (like me), this is an eye-opening book. There were so many things I highlighted because they blew my mind. It is a reminder of why it is important to think about why we do most anything and question who benefits from changing, or not changing, the system.

[Charlie Denison · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pleading Out" is a powerful critique of America's plea bargaining system by law professor and civil rights lawyer Dan Canon. This well-written, engaging read argues that while jury trials are commonly viewed as the backbone of American criminal justice, the reality is that most cases never make it to trial—instead, they're resolved through plea deals negotiated behind closed doors.

Through many captivating case studies (some based on his own experiences), Canon presents a compelling argument that this "assembly line" approach to justice has created a permanent underclass of Americans who, post-conviction, face severe restrictions on voting, employment, and other basic rights. The book is particularly strong in demonstrating how plea bargaining disproportionately impacts working-class communities and contributes to the erosion of class solidarity in America.

It sounds heavy, and it is, but Canon makes “Pleading Out” a page-turner, and - as disturbing as the topic is - he even makes you laugh.

What distinguishes this work is Canon's combination of scholarly analysis with practical solutions. He outlines specific strategies for reform, including growing grassroots movements and leveraging existing organizations to demand change. Canon points to successful examples in places like Alaska and New Orleans where reduced reliance on plea bargains led to more careful case screening and fewer arrests overall.

The book's historical context and contemporary examples make complex legal concepts accessible without oversimplifying them. While the subject matter is inherently disturbing, Canon manages to maintain a tone that balances critique with hope for meaningful reform of the American criminal justice system.

For anyone interested in understanding how plea bargaining has transformed from a procedural tool into a mechanism of mass incarceration - or for anyone wanting a fascinating read that will both inform and inspire - "Pleading Out" is a must-read. It’s an enlightening and urgent analysis.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​