Game Theory and Criminal Proceedings
Game Theory and Criminal Proceedings

Summary/Abstract: The expression “game theory” is essentially a scientific metaphor where two or more individuals with opposing or mixed motivations take actions, employing strategies that are both interdependent and also build upon each other. The game-theory method makes possible the study on how individuals on opposing sides make decisions in a given situation. It also applies to those life situations where a decision made by an individual has no power over other decisions that affect him. The decision maker can be an individual, a group, or an organization. Game theory can analyze situations where participants must take decisions that pose risks. In these situations, at least two players try to maximize their own socalled “utility function. Game theory can be used to model criminal proceedings, as each decision carries a risk with respect to the end result. If the accused and their attorneys adequately apply game theory to their strategies, then they will achieve the result that is most optimal for themselves. Game theory also makes it easier to understand the actions of the participants in criminal proceedings and therefore to understand certain testimony, especially betrayal; game theory helps us properly assess the creditworthiness of incriminating statements that one defendant makes about another.

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