77: America Has A Guilty Plea Problem

(WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE) Today, 98% of all federal criminal cases are resolved with a guilty plea. Why?

"Half a loaf is better than none. . . . When we have a weak case for any reason, we'll reduce to almost anything rather than lose."

In modern America, "beyond a reasonable doubt" as determined by a jury has largely been replaced by the discretion of prosecutors to punish defendants for exercising their constitutional right to a trial by jury. So much so, defendants in pretrial detention are agreeing to plea "bargains" at a rate so high, it’s difficult to deny the obvious: Innocence is irrelevant.

Reb is joined by Hannah Bogen, a Federal Public Defender in the Office of the FPD for the Central District of California, the largest public defense office in the federal system. Hannah shares her firsthand experience with indigent defense, pretrial detention, plea bargaining, and sentencing policy—a rare glimpse into the real lives of her clients in the federal criminal system, and public defenders' enduring fight for dignity and mercy for the people whom society often forgets...Until it happens to you.

**DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions discussed in this episode are personal to Hannah and Reb and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Office of the Federal Public Defender.**

A huge thank you to Hannah Bogen for her time and unforgettable insight for this episode, and a gracious nod to the Offices of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles and around the country. Their attorneys, staff, and investigators are selfless bright sparks in a system shrouded by darkness.

• See: L.A. public defenders are on a win streak as Trump's Justice Department charges activists , L.A. Times (Feb. 6, 2026) --> Access without a subscription here
• See also: More than 10,000 lawyers have left the Trump Administration leaving multiple agencies understaffed, report says, Independent (May 31, 2026)

Helpful Resources, Information, Statistics:

• Mass Incarceration—The Whole Pie (Prison Policy Initiative 2026)
• Mass Incarceration Trends (The Sentencing Project 2026)
• 1 in 3 Americans has a criminal record (Center for American Progress 2022)
• The Hidden Law of Plea Bargaining (2018) ("It continues to be driven not by law but by power—the vast, unregulated power of prosecutors")
• The Unconstitutionality of Modern Plea Bargaining: Curbing Prosecutorial Vindictiveness, 3 Prin.L.J. 2 (2024)
• Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022 (Pew Research 2023)
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: How US Federal Prosecutors Force Drug Defendants To Plead Guilty (2013)
• In The Shadows: A Review of the Research on Plea Bargaining (Vera Institute 2020)
• Detaining the Poor: How money bail perpetuates an endless cycle of poverty and jail time (Prison Policy Initiative 2016)
• Arrest, Release, Repeat: Who is jailed, how often, and why (Prison Policy Initiative 2024)
• Report: How Mandatory Minimums Perpetuate Mass Incarceration and What To Do About It (2024)
• Correcting the Record: Fentanyl Myths & Misinformation (2025)
• We Can't Go Cold Turkey: Why Suppressing Drug Markets Endangers Society (2018)
• Addicted to punishment: Jails and prisons punish drug use far more than they treat it (Prison Policy Initiative 2024)

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00:00 - How America convicts the innocent

04:14 - WELCOME! Hannah Bogen, Federal Public Defender

05:26 - A mantra for public defenders

06:06 - **DISCLAIMER**

06:22 - Typical crimes Hannah sees in federal court

07:40 - WHAT DO FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDERS DO?

10:35 - "We're not gonna get there in time..."

12:46 - Favorite thing a client has said to you

16:05 - REPRESENTING VICTIMS IN THE SYSTEM

19:25 - "Prosecutor won't even make eye contact"

20:42 - ARRESTED IN PAJAMAS: Now what?

26:22 - Poverty and prison

29:30 - Trump's new prosecution policies

34:25 - "THE PURPOSE IS CRUELTY"

36:13 - Drugs and Mandatory Minimums

41:15 - THE PROBLEM WITH PLEA "BARGAINS"

45:38 - Plead or Suffer (Trial Penalty)

49:30 - 10,000 attorneys leave Trump's DOJ since 2025

53:25 - Former FPD Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!

55:44 - BEST DAYS ON THE JOB

1:00:53 - Final thoughts for Rebuttal listeners

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