Research

Professor Lars Lefgren, Brigham Young University

"Same Crime, Different Time: Discrimination in Case Outcomes for DWI Offenders"
Wednesday, 6 May 2026. 15:00
Room 386 AB ASBS

Abstract

We examine disparities in judicial outcomes among people charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), a setting in which legal guilt is objectively determined by breath alcohol content (BrAC). Focusing on first-time offenders with no aggravating circumstances and BrAC above the legal threshold, we find that race, gender, and financial resources strongly predict the likelihood of incarceration and case dismissal. Defendants with greater socioeconomic advantage are more likely to access rehabilitative alternatives and avoid criminal records. We discuss how these outcome differences may reflect not only disparities in options offered by the court, but also in defendants’ choices among them.

Bio

Lars Lefgren is an American Economist trained at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business who is a professor of economics at Brigham Young University. Professor Lefgren specialises in applied microeconomics with a number of papers in the economics of education. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Brigham Young University and earned a PhD in business economics from the University of Chicago.

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First published: 30 April 2026