Taking the Ratio of Differences Seriously: The Multiple Offender and the Standard of Proof, or, Different Strokes for Serial Folks (original) (raw)

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyzes the case for utilizing different standards of proof for trying cases involving, respectively, serial offenders and first-time offenders. It argues that, if we expect the standard in a trial to reflect the costs and benefits of the four possible outcomes at trial, then the empirical data leave no room for doubt that the profiles of all four outcomes--true and false convictions and true and false acquittals--are strikingly different for serial offenders than for those without prior convictions.

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