The vast majority of criminal cases end in plea bargains, a new report finds

A new report finds that the vast majority of criminal cases end in a plea bargain. The American Bar Association says the practice puts efficiency over fairness and leads to innocent people being coerced to plead guilty. (boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images)

In any given year, 98% of criminal cases in the federal courts end with a plea bargain — a practice that prizes efficiency over fairness and innocence, according to a new report from the American Bar Association.

A task force that includes prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys and academics cited "substantial evidence" that innocent people are coerced into guilty pleas because of the power prosecutors hold over them, including the prospect of decades-long mandatory minimum sentences.