The Economics of Rights: Does the Right to Counsel Increase Crime?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ater, Itai; Givati, Yehonatan; Rigbi, Oren
• 署名单位: Tel Aviv University; Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20160027
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 1-27
• 关键词: criminal-procedure; police; gideon; lawyer; guantanamo; rates

摘要

We examine the broad consequences of the right to counsel by exploiting a legal reform in Israel that extended the right to publicly provided legal counsel to suspects in arrest proceedings. Using the staggered regional rollout of the reform, we find that the reform reduced arrest duration and the likelihood of arrestees being charged. We also find that the reform reduced the number of arrests made by the police. Lastly, we find that the reform increased crime. These findings indicate that the right to counsel improves suspects' situation, but discourages the police from making arrests, which results in higher crime.