The Causal Impact of Lawyers on Traffic Penalties

Last registered on April 02, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Causal Impact of Lawyers on Traffic Penalties
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013268
Initial registration date
March 28, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 02, 2024, 11:11 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
Washington State

Primary Investigator

Name
Alexandre Mas
Affiliation
UC Berkeley
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-05-15
End date
2024-12-15
Keywords
Crime, Violence, & Conflict
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We propose a randomized control trial to examine the causal effect of legal representation on case outcomes and repeat offending in the context of traffic violations.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Mas, Alexandre. 2024. "The Causal Impact of Lawyers on Traffic Penalties." AEA RCT Registry. April 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13268-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
We propose to examine the causal effect of legal representation on case outcomes and repeat offending in the context of traffic violations. We will do this by partnering with a company that matches traffic violators to legal representatives. Specifically, individuals upload traffic ticket information to the company’s website and they are matched to attorneys. Currently, individuals who share their citation record with the company get a quote for legal fees. If the individual does not select an attorney, the company sends them several emails in the following 10 days as a reminder that they have not completed the transaction. In these follow-up emails we provide a randomly selected group of customers a 75% discount on legal services if the individual signs on. We will then have a treatment group (received subsidy offer) and a control group (no subsidy). We hypothesize that this subsidy will induce random variation in legal representation between the treatment and control groups. Lawyers will never perceive any difference in payments due to our study. They will not be aware of the study, will not know if their client is on the treatment or control, and they will continue to receive money through the company's system and will not be accepting a discount for their services. Using publicly available online court records, we will track case outcomes for individuals in the treatment and control groups to test if accepting representation leads to less severe penalties. We will also examine whether there are differences in subsequent offenses.
Intervention Start Date
2023-05-15
Intervention End Date
2024-12-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Case dismissals, total penalty amount, repeat offense
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized control trial
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Our partner company will randomize by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individuals.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
500 Individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
500 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
250 treatment and 250 control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Princeton University
IRB Approval Date
2023-02-23
IRB Approval Number
15120
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials