Fw:Re: den.list-d Digest V2002 #56

[leedna@juno.com]

> Have any science on that assertion?  How about this:  depending on 
> type civil case 70 to 95% of cases settle.  I suspect that as many criminal 
> matters also are worked out.

To help support John Kromkowski's comment and data on lawyers:
In the county of San Diego, Ca., last year, 95% of the Felony cases were settled outside of court, mostly through plea bargains, and only 417 felony cases went to trial. 
This came out today in the San Diego Union Tribune article about the David Westerfield trial on his kidnapping and murder of 8 year-old Danielle Van Dam. 

This also implicates District Attorneys (of which ours is up for re-election in November) - who are measured on the 'conviction rate'. Another zero-sum game. Plea bargains reduces the chance of a DA losing a case in court. It also affects their decisions to prosecute in the first place. 

Lee Hoffman
San Diego