She has gotten some preliminary results from the study, in advance of a six-month report that will be given to her office in January. There are also other areas Harrington will be looking at. вЂњSo I am making a statement that we are going to track our decision making and weвЂ™re going to include demographic information like race, and weвЂ™re going to take a hard look at ourselves to see what we are doing to perpetuate these disparities.вЂќ вЂњ My approach to racial justice and ending the scourge of racial disparities in the justice system is to lead by example,вЂќ Harrington said. Race likely affects how victims report conduct, how police write about it in arrest reports, how prosecutors interpret the reports, and how judges perceive the facts. Prior studies have identified racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system, and Harrington said racism is a system-wide issue. Harrington said one goal of the project is to ensure that pleas are entered into consistently, without racial bias. Harrington appeared on The Codcast this week to discuss the Plea Tracker project. Researchers at the Wilson Center will then analyze the data to learn more about how pleas are negotiated, and whether they are done in a just manner. After any deal is reached, prosecutors in her office must go online and fill out details about the plea and the parties involved.

Harrington, a progressive Democrat, is one of three district attorneys nationwide participating in the Plea Tracker project run by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School. Ninety to 95 percent of criminal cases nationwide are resolved through a negotiated agreement, or plea deal, rather than trial.

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