Essay On Plea Bargain

A plea bargain is a negotiation between the defendant and their attorney on one side, and the crown prosecutor on the other side. A plea bargain may give the defendant a lightened sentence, in exchange for either confessing to some crimes, or giving information that is related to the offence, for example, the location of stolen goods or the names and locations of other participants, as well as their part in the offence.

According to Timothy Sandefur’s In Defense of Plea Bargaining article, “a plea bargain is a contract with the state. The defense agrees to plead guilty to a lesser crime and receive a lesser sentence, rather than go to trial on a more severe charge where he faces the possibility of a harsher sentence.” We are also told in The New York Times Article; Federal Law on Sentencing is Unjust, Judge Rules that “about 97 percent of federal criminal convictions nationwide were the result of plea bargains.”

This would decrease the overall amount of time drug offenders would spend in jail while causing the positive consequence of slowly reducing the amount of individuals incarcerated. The criminal justice system uses the plea bargaining system to dispose of virtually all drug cases without a jury trial (Langbein). According to John Langbein, in the Harvard Journal Of Law & Public Policy, the plea bargaining system operates by threat, “the object is to coerce the accused to surrender his right to jury trial by threatening him with a materially greater sanction if he exercises that right” (Langbein). Some scholars, like Langbein, argue in favor of eliminated the plea bargaining system, which has been proven virtually impossible. However, I would like to argue in favor of limiting coercion in plea bargaining and limiting the power of prosecutors. Langbein points out that, “Plea bargaining transfers the power of condemnation to a low-visibility decision-maker, the prosecutor. Because negotiation replaces trial, plea bargaining substitutes an essentially concealed procedure for the salutary openness of the public jury trial. The prosecutor who operates the negotiated plea system exercises awesome powers, powers that were meant to be shared with

An agreement made in a criminal case between a prosecutor and its defendant, before reaching a trial is a plea bargain. The prosecutor offers an opportunity to the defendant to plead guilty. By agreeing to plead guilty to a crime the defendant would in exchange get a prosecutor’s promise to convince the judge to reduce the sentence. It is really impossible to predict what a jury is going to decide in a trial. I personally think that plea bargaining is being used as an easy way out; instead of having the person who committed the crime pay for what they did by serving the whole time. By managing a plea bargain the terms can sometimes be used to include pondering on how it works and who it can help.

Because plea bargains are so controversial, it is no surprise that there are pros and cons of using them. Some of the pros include: allowing both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial, or allowing criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge. However, on the contrary, plea bargains often make the defendant feel forced to plead guilty to a lesser charge in order to avoid the risk that he or she may be found guilty at trial. Often times plea bargains lead to poorly operated police investigations and attorneys may not take the proper efforts and time to prepare their cases.

The history of plea bargaining seems to play an important role in why plea bargaining will not disappear any time soon. According to an article review written by Stephanos Bibas about a book written by George Fisher, plea bargaining started out as judges only having the power to grant them, but prosecutors having only the incentive (2004). He later explains that in the nineteenth century, it started out that prosecutors had to use tricks up their

Plea-bargaining is defined as an agreement between the prosecutor and defendant where the defendant pleads guilty to the charges or lesser charges in hope for leniency. In the criminal justice system, the use of plea-bargaining falls under the crime control method as it focuses on the process and speed of arrest, prosecution, and conviction of criminals. Today plea agreement has become an essential part of the criminal justice system as it is used 97 percent of federal cases and 94 percent of state cases (Schreurs, 2015). Even though the use of plea bargaining is very high, its is still a growing process as it is still very undeveloped, which will be seen from

Despite the fact that many people believe that the criminal justice system is similar to TV crime shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, and Law and Order, the real criminal justice system does not work in such a way as it portrays in these shows. For example, on these crime shows, most cases get solved and are brought to justice via a court trial. Nonetheless, in reality many cases are solved in a plea bargain. Plea bargaining is one of the most controversial issues in the United States. The practice of plea bargaining is necessary due to fact of the high crime rates, and lacking facilities and staffs to try all cases. First of all, let’s find out what is the plea bargaining? Plea bargaining is an arrangement between a prosecutor and a defendant

Brittany, I agree that there is good and bad that comes from bedsheeting and plea bargaining. However, it seems as though the government receives more of the good from the tactics, as citizens receive more of the bad from the tactics. Regarding the good, you mentioned plea deals reduce the strain upon the judicial system by reducing the number of trials that must occur. In addition to that, they assure a conviction, which looks good for the prosecutor, and lighten their caseload (Levenson, 2013). As for the defendant being overcharged, accepting a plea bargain provides them the opportunity for a lighter sentence on a less severe charge, and fewer or less serious offenses listed on their criminal record. For the defense attorney’s, they get to do less work and still get paid the same amount of money. For the correctional system, a plea deal may reduce the amount of inmates entering a facility as jail time can be suspended as a condition of the plea bargain (Levenson, 2013).

Plea bargaining has become the way the American justice system operates. Prior to plea bargaining jury courts were mostly run by the judge and the prosecutor. In this particular setting the defendant defended himself and spoke directly to the jurors. The prosecuting attorney, if there was one needed, presented the case and the judge ensured procedural protocols were followed (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2015, p. 310). Plea bargaining is known as far back as the nineteenth century, of course not as depth as today’s plea bargaining.

The plea bargain is a vital part of the criminal justice system today. Before the 1800s when an offender was caught there would be a trial and verdict. The plea bargain are for defendant 's to plead guilty to a lesser offense or to at least one charge especially if there are multiple indictments. Defendants will plead guilty in hopes of leniency, and at least 90 percent of criminal cases end in a plea bargains. A majority of criminal cases in many jurisdictions will end in a plea bargaining.

The most common thing that is done when defendants are sentenced, is that they are heard in front of a judge to receive their punishment for their conviction. Another alternative would be a plea bargain, a plea bargain is when a defendant pleads guilty in order to receive a lesser or their charges could be dropped (“Lecture 6, 2016”). This analysis will go over a plea bargain for Mario whom is being charged with possession of methamphetamine and with a DUI with a BAC of .08/.09 on the prosecuting side, what defense counsel would like to offer, and giving the reason for justification of the offer.

Plea-bargaining is one of the most controversial aspects of the American legal process. While some individuals regard plea-bargaining as an effective tool used to ensure justice, others consider it fundamentally unconstitutional. Plea-bargaining is a process in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a charge in exchange for either a reduced sentence or a lesser charge. The process is extremely private and judges typically have very little influence over the negotiation. Most frequently, the prosecutor negotiates the plea with the defendant who maintains the right to effective legal counsel. Once an agreement is reached, the prosecutor presents the decision to a judge who has the final say on all sentencing matters. To date, the Department of Justice estimates that approximately 97% of all criminal cases are resolved by plea-bargaining as opposed to trial by jury. While plea-bargaining offers multiple benefits to the legal process and the general public, it is a system that is in need of critical reform. Plea bargains frequently result in court decisions that are both unjust and unconstitutional. However, implementing federal requirements that limit prosecutorial power and protect the defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights can significantly reduce these issues.

A plea bargain (“offer”) is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecuting agency may offer the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a proposal of a lighter than the maximum sentence. This opportunity allows defendants to avoid the risk of a conviction at trial on a more serious charge. This also allows all involved parties to keep the court’s calendars light without exhausting resources of a court, potential public defenders, and prosecutors who are all salaried for by the expense of tax payers. If every case in the criminal justice system went to trial, the courts would be so overloaded that they would effectively be shut down.

QUESTION 4 (4 points): After a plea bargain, Joe Smith pleads guilty to a burglary charge. In the bargain the prosecutor promised that Joe would get probation only as a sentence in exchange for the guilty plea. The judge sentenced Joe to a year in jail. Can Joe withdraw his guilty plea? State the reasons for your answer. Joe Smith does have the right to withdraw his plea of guilty as long as it is part of the plea bargain that he only receive probation. When a defendant agrees to a plea bargain with a prosecutor then he or she has the right to assume that the said prosecutor will keep his or her word and that they would be obliged to keep his or her promise. Santobello v. New York is a case that is similar to Mr. Smith’s. Mr. Santobello