Reconciling Loss Aversion and Guilty Pleas

In the context of criminal law, a criminal defendant may choose to waive the right to trial because the defendant does not value objectively and appropriately the worth of a trial relative to the worth of a plea, or because the defendant lacks information to make an informed valuation. Until and unless a researcher's privilege comes to exist, one will have to speculate about why defendants are making bad choices, and accordingly, about the right way to fix the problem.