He was ultimately not concerned with theory. He sought to understand the impact of criminal law in real courtrooms and in the real world, his analytical approach was rigorous and also balanced without rhetorical or ideological excess, and his writing style was unusual in the legal academy. His law review articles are now classics in their fields.

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He was concerned that without a judge playing an active role, a defendant might plead guilty to something substantially more or less than he was really guilty of in return for a lesser sentence.

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