cases. It would be logical to assume that a trained attorney would have an advantage in a legal match-up against a road officer. A defense attorney may be able to make motions or use strategies that someone without formal legal training would be challenged to counter. The vast majority of officers we have spoken with do not want to prosecute their own cases and are frustrated at the “unfair” match-up.
Case Dispositions by Case Age
Part of our data collection is to record the length of time between the arrest and the final determination of the case outcome.
Cases Resolved in Less Than One Year
53%
Guilty
Pled Down
42%
D/D/NG
4%
n=1527
Cases Resolved in Between One and Two Years
Guilty
42%
Pled Down
42%
D/D/NG
15%
n=553
Our data show that the conviction rate is just above 50% for cases settled in under a year, but there is an 11-percentage-point drop in conviction rates for cases that take longer than a year. This is compelling evidence to support what is known among those
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