Posed with the question as to whether or not I believe plea bargaining serves a purpose in the American Criminal Justice system, I answer affirmatively. Plea bargaining results in the disposition of “…approximately 95% of all criminal cases…” (Bohm & Haley, 2014, p. 11) in an overloaded criminal justice system where cases oftentimes take years to resolve. Additionally, I believe plea bargaining should continue to be allowed, as it is a valuable tool that can be used to expedite cases through the criminal justice system (Bohm & Haley, 2014). Griffiths (2008) argues the possibility of the defendant receiving a reduced charge and/or a lighter sentence, less publicity and embarrassment for the defendant and his/her family, and less financial resources
In chapter 18 “The Case against Plea Bargaining” by Timothy Lynch, it discusses the use of plea barging in cases which involve defendants admitting guilt in exchange for a reward. According to Lynch, some of the benefits include being charged with a lesser offense or in other words a reduced sentence, a decrease in counts when a defendant is charged with numerous counts of crime, and a promise by the prosecutor to recommend to the judge that a soft sentence is forced. Another benefit is the modification in the charges filed against the defendant to be somewhat more acceptable.
Ms. Bowen states in her article that all authors reviewed agree that, “plea bargaining under an imbalanced system does not achieve justice, much less arrive at something that resembles empirical or legal truth, institutionalized plea bargaining best resembles the criminal justice system’s
My favorite article from section III is article 11 Adapting to Plea Bargaining: Prosecutors by Milton Heumann. The reason I like this article the best is because it talks about and shows the perspectives of new prosecutors about plea agreements. That the aspect of plea bargaining are quite similar to that of new prosecutors and defense attorneys. I like how the author included illustrations of questions from an older prosecutor to the answers to a newly appointed prosecutor. I believe what Heumann tried to make valid in this article is that new prosecutors take into account that plea bargaining is a worthwhile service. I think the author did a lot of assuming in this article rather that teaching the material to his readers. Advantages to
Around 90% of all cases are resolved in a plea bargain. A plea bargain is when a prosecutor offers the defendant a lesser sentence if they plead guilty. A bargain will often be accepted if the defendant does not think they can win the case or does not have any compelling evidence. Plea bargains do not happen in court rooms. As depicted in the movie, plea bargaining can happen anywhere. For example, at around the 50-minute mark, Jack Ross offers Daniel Kaffee a plea of involuntary manslaughter outside the basketball court. Plea bargaining is one of the few court actions that do not happen in a court room.
Plea bargaining is an obstruction of justice and truth in stories presented by Frontline. The relevant actors of the courthouse including the judges, the prosecutor, and the defense attorneys use plea bargaining as a way to get cases of the docket, to punish all guilty defendants in any way possible, and to reduce time spent on the cases. It seems every one of the defendants interviewed by Frontline were given only one way out from the trouble they were in. In order to go home to their families or in order not to risk receiving a harsher sentence from the judge or jury at the trial, they ended up pleading guilty to all the charges laid out in front of them to get a lighter sentence.
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).
During criminal cases, many prosecutors and attorneys struggle with trying to prove whether or not the defendant committed the crime. Is there such a way to legally coerce the defendant to confess to his or her crime? Enter the plea bargain. A plea bargain occurs when a defendant agrees to plea guilty in exchange for a reduction of charges and a lighter sentence than what the crime usually carries. Most people may see plea bargains as a boon to the defendant, but may end up hurting the defendant. The courts always benefit from plea bargains either way, but the defendant must still answer for their crimes.
There are many ways of resolving the criminal cases as defined in the current criminal justice system. One of this ways is through the use of pleas bargain. Plea bargain happens way before the trial and occurs when defendant accepts the wrong doing. He or she can plead guilty of the crimes or changes where they get to accept lenient sentence that can even lead to dismissal of charges (Lippke, 2011). This is however a private process though it is being taken over by advocacy groups.
Pleas don’t come without drawbacks or dangers. Some fear that an innocent defendant may be pressured into a confession and plea out of fear of a more severe penalty if convicted. Another drawback is that some vicious criminals will get lenient treatment and get less than they deserve and be back out in a shorter time. “More than 90% of convictions come from negotiated pleas, which means that less than 10% of criminal cases result in trial.” This statistic starts to answer a question I had about our system. “What are the effects of plea bargaining in our courts and should there be more control over them?” The obvious effects are that fewer cases actually go to trial. With less cases
I believe that plea bargains are very important to the U.S. criminal justice system. Without having plea bargains our criminal justice system would be
In Glenn Ford’s case, his state-provided lawyers had “never even stepped foot in the courtroom before…they never tried a case and [were] defending a capital case." One specialized in oil and gas law and the other had never appeared before a jury, making the pair woefully ill equipped for the most momentous occasion in the defendant’s life. Playing off of Mr. Ford’s fears and cowering behind the gravitas of the prosecution, they urged Mr. Ford to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence. Little did Ford know that the outcome would be dire, unwittingly driving the final nail in his own coffin. Obviously, plea-bargaining brings about many advantages. In most cases, it minimizes the risk of longer sentences if the prosecution uncovers more damning evidence, as well as shortens trial lengths. This works particularly well for those that already know of their guilt, who can choose the lesser of two evils—the devil they know. Drawing fewer trials, bargaining supposedly carries the added benefit of minimizing backlogs and enabling more cases to be heard in a given period of time. Yet, many of the troubles of plea-bargaining go overlooked. Though some may be genuinely innocent, defendants often plead guilty to more lenient sentences rather than risk the possibility of harsher penalties from a trial's decision—made especially more tempting if they have a poor defense team. Furthermore, plead-bargaining essentially skates around rigorous methods of truth-seeking; thoroughness and impartiality play second fiddle to backdoor wheeling and dealing, making things more a matter of what’s convenient to the parties involved than finding
It has been understood that many successful criminal prosecutions in the United States end not with jury trial, rather yet plea bargain. Plea bargains are agreements between prosecutor and defendant, where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in order to receive a lesser offence or sentence. “The mode of plea-bargaining is most closely associated with high volume, low-stakes cases like misdemeanors and low grade felonies, as well as cases in which the prosecutor and defense lawyer have a good relationship and a long history of past dealings,”(O’Hear,2008). Throughout the following report I will be creating a scenario as a prosecutor proposing a plea offer alongside with a role of defense counsel and preparing a counteroffer
The use of plea bargaining has been prevalent in the modern Justice system throughout generations. It was not until the early twentieth century that its use became common and admissible in courts. During the early twenties the great experiment of prohibition came about, legally this resulted in the over criminalization of many laws, and saw the courts swell far beyond overcapacity. Although it's been legally used for over a hundred years, the plea bargain saw its real start begin with this massive influx of criminals. Throughout its early history the plea bargain was seen as a tool to buy freedom, lawyers and judges did not try and hide the price tag of a reduced scented, naturally it was used as a tool of corruption. Even after the end of prohibition the United States government searched to over
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.
Plea bargaining has a negative impact on the criminal justice system because it attacks the integrity of our courts. We are privileged to live in America where we are guaranteed certain inalienable rights, such as being innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. With plea bargaining there is no proof beyond a reasonable doubt and therefore how can we be comfortable with a guilty verdict? The integrity is also attacked in many other ways, such as overcharging. This is where a prosecutor anticipates a plea bargain and therefore charges a defendant with a more severe crime in the hopes that, when the crime is plead down, the original charge will be what sticks. The defendant can also abuse the plea bargaining system by stalling the process, drawing out negotiations in the hopes of garnering a better deal as the trial date gets closer and closer.