Sponsors (2)
The bill increases fairness for defendants who go to trial by reducing the risk of trial penalties and promoting sentence parity, at the cost of likely more litigation, higher prosecution/trial costs, and added complexity in multi‑defendant sentencing.
Defendants (especially those who go to trial) are less likely to receive harsher penalties for exercising the right to trial because courts can consider plea offers and may impose below‑minimum sentences when a statutory minimum would effectively punish going to trial.
Defendants across cases benefit from more consistent and equitable sentencing because sentencing courts must consider prior plea offers and co‑defendant sentences when determining an appropriate sentence.
Federal courts and prosecutors may face more litigation as defendants challenge plea disparities and seek sentence reductions, increasing court workload and administrative cost.
Allowing courts to impose below‑minimum sentences to avoid chilling trials could reduce prosecutors' leverage to secure pleas, likely increasing trial rates and prosecution costs paid by taxpayers.
Requiring consideration of co‑defendant sentences and plea offers could complicate multi‑defendant sentencing and risk inconsistent outcomes when facts about other defendants are disputed or incomplete.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal courts to consider whether harsher sentences, plea disparities, or mandatory minimums penalize exercising the right to trial and allows below‑minimum sentences in such cases.
Official title: To protect the constitutional right to trial and discourage imposition of extended sentences for defendants who elect to go to trial instead of accepting a plea offer, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 2, 2026 by H. Morgan Griffith · Last progress June 2, 2026
Directs federal courts to weigh whether a defendant’s choice to go to trial, the existence of plea offers, disparities between co‑defendant outcomes, or mandatory minimums function as a penalty for exercising the constitutional right to trial when deciding a sentence. It amends 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) to add three explicit sentencing factors protecting the right to trial and asks courts to consider plea disparities and whether statutory minimums effectively punish trial by supporting below‑minimum sentences. The bill text also contains a truncated insertion into § 3553(e).