Charge Stacking: Harvard Law Review Article Summary and Assessment

This Harvard Law Review article provides an in-depth analysis of charge stacking in the federal and state criminal justice systems in the United States. It sheds light on the prevalence of this practice, which refers to the prosecution’s tactic of filing multiple charges against a defendant for the same alleged criminal conduct. The article presents a comprehensive examination of charge stacking by analyzing data from federal and state jurisdictions and comparing their practices.

The author starts by providing a background on charge stacking, its implications on defendants, and the concerns raised by scholars and legal practitioners. The article then delves into the methodology used for data analysis, which includes examining the number of cases and charges across different jurisdictions between 2009 and 2013.

The findings reveal that charge stacking is less prevalent in the federal system than public commentary and trial advantage might suggest. Instead, some state governments charge multiple offenses more often than the federal government, and this practice correlates with higher rates of conviction. The association between more charges and higher conviction rates is present in both federal and state systems.

One of the strengths of the article is its detailed examination of the data, which allows for a better understanding of the complexities surrounding charge stacking. The author acknowledges the limitations of the data and calls for further research to evaluate alternative explanations and explore the potential prevalence and causes of charge stacking.

However, the article also has some limitations. It does not provide comprehensive data on how race and gender interact with the number of charges, and the state datasets do not offer information broken out by the type of crime. Additionally, the data does not represent every state in the country, which might limit the generalizability of the findings.

In conclusion, the article offers a valuable contribution to the understanding of charge stacking in the U.S. criminal justice system. It highlights the need for more research to uncover the potential prevalence and causes of charge stacking, as well as exploring the role of race, gender, and other demographic factors in this practice. The insights provided by the article could serve as a foundation for future research and help inform policy discussions and potential reforms in the criminal justice system.