Instructor: Lucian Dervan

Our criminal legal system is dominated by pleas of guilty, not by the trials we so often see on television. Join Professor LUCIAN DERVAN, Chair of the American Bar Association Plea Bargaining Task Force and USN parent, as he examines the historic rise of plea bargaining from a tool of corruption on the streets of Chicago to the dominant mechanism for resolving criminal cases today. Along the way, he will examine various topics, including the trial penalty (the increased sentence one receives simply for exercising their right to go to trial), his psychological deception studies exploring why people falsely plead guilty to offenses they have not committed, the global rise in plea bargaining and what the future holds for plea bargaining in the United States. The discussion will include examination of the ABA Plea Bargaining Task Force's soon-to-be released report, which contains various recommendations for reform. 

Class Fee: $30.00

Age 21 and up.

Lucian Dervan

Lucian E. Dervan is a Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Justice Studies at Belmont University College of Law. He focuses on domestic and international criminal law and is the author of three books and dozens of book chapters and articles. He is also the founder and author of The Plea Bargaining Blog.

In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Professor Dervan currently serves on the ABA Board of Governors and previously served as Chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section and Commission on the American Jury. He is also the Chair of the ABA CJS Global White Collar Crime Institute and serves on the Advisory Committee of the NACDL White Collar Criminal Defense College at Stetson.

Prior to joining the academy, Professor Dervan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also practiced law with King & Spalding LLP and Ford & Harrison LLP.