…and then the DA backs them up by grossly overcharging in order to intimidate everyone into plea-bargaining, whether they’re guilty or not. And even the court procedures themselves structurally incentivize pleading guilty for small offenses just because if you plead not guilty they make you show up to separate court dates for arraignment, transfer to a different court (because so many people plead that the first court isn’t even set up to hold trials anymore) and arraignment again, finally the actual trial, etc.