Plea Bargaining Process And Hearing

Prosecutors normally meet witnesses at a relatively early stage in the proceedings to discuss special measures and related issues. The witness’s overall subjective experience of participating in criminal proceedings might thereby be enhanced.

My understanding of the court system has changed almost weekly from the beginning of my semester. I do understand things that I never thought I would’ve have known or even cared about in the least. The book Courtroom 302 has brought an even different side of thinking into this. The book goes into detail about the criminal court in Chicago. He watches all of the actions and different trials that come and go in the courtroom 302. He presents many different cases throughout the book which gives more insight then just a single case.

People have long debated whether plea bargaining is the best way to handle felony cases in the justice system. This article focuses on a reformed, institutionalized way to plea bargain. The author researches the King County Prosecutors rationalized approach to the way the Early Plea Unit handles their cases.

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.

The plea bargaining process is no stranger to the justice system. The issue of plea bargaining has been subject to never-ending debate as to whether or not this system is still viable. Some believe that we should abolish this system of plea bargaining. Plea bargaining is criticized for failing to take into account the victims’ desires. Rampant is the belief that people are not being properly punished for their crime and, as such, leads to a diminished respect for the criminal justice process. Others believe that the plea bargaining system is necessary in order to prevent overwhelming case loads for the justice system and it also helps save court time and money by resolving cases early on in the criminal process. It can also help secure a conviction if it is unclear if there is enough evidence for the accused to be found guilty of his or her crime. Despite some of its limitations raised by critics, we should not go so far as to demand the abolishment of plea negotiations. The plea bargaining system is a necessary evil. While the system of plea bargaining is indispensable, it is important to note that the plea bargaining process in Canada is far from perfect. Thus, suggestions will be recommended for a reform of the process of plea bargaining. Directions for future research will be discussed as well.

During this documentary, the viewers get an inside look at how criminal proceedings work. In the courtroom, the most important players are the prosecution, defense, and judge. The judge is in the room to make sure the proceeding runs smoothly and to settle any arguments that arise. The prosecution is there to accuse the defendant for whatever crime he or she has been convicted of. The defense is there to defend the person being convicted of the crime. There is also a bailiff who is there to oversee the court and make sure everyone there is safe. The bailiff will bring evidence form the defense or prosecution to the judge, as nobody is to approach the bench without the judge calling attorneys to the

In the United States, plea bargaining seems to determine the fate of criminal defendants, rather that trials. This is true in federal cases, but specifically in drug cases. An estimated three percent of federal drug defendants actually go to trial (Fellner). Also, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 50% of inmates are in federal prison for drug offenses. Of those in prison for drug offenses, evidence has shown that “defendants convicted of drug offenses with mandatory minimum sentences who went to trial received sentences on average 11 years longer than those who pled guilty (215 versus 82.5 months)” (Fellner). Harsh sentences for drug offenses has fueled climbing federal prison population since the anti-drug effort began in the mid-1980s.

The most essential features of our criminal justice system is bail, preventive detention, and plea bargaining. These three features are necessary for our criminal justice system to work the way it does. One of the most beneficial way, two of these systems benefit the criminal justice system, is by lessening the burden on prisons and jails, which are already over capacity. In some ways bail, preventive detention, and plea bargaining are seen as controversial and counterproductive to our criminal justice system, but are required to maintain an equality between safety, fairness and justice.

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

In a study done by examining data from the National Crime Victimization Survey it found that blacks experiences higher victimization rate than others in general which could explained why black judges tend to hand out harsher punishment. Therefore is one reason that can influence the decision of a judge they are more concerned for the troubles of minority victims than for the rights of minority criminals. Apprehensions over the uprising and high crime rates of black communities could be another influence on a black judge decision. As result of the high crime especially if it is in their community influences the judges to administer harsher sentences as opposed to those given out by their white counterpart. Black judges give out those harsher

With such short notice there was something that was vital to him “winning” this hearing, it was the criminal paralegal a couple of offices over. If it were not for her meticulousness then the hearing would have been a disaster. I interviewed a couple of the paralegals at the Summit Law Firm and one of them was Ana Lopez, the Criminal Case Manager, during the interview she emphasized the attention to detail that is needed to be a great paralegal. Depending on where and in what field of the law one works in the number of cases that one handles can vary drastically. At the Summit Law Firm the number of caseload is growing and with that comes the chance that something falls in between the cracks.

I visited that area 2 times within September 1st & 2nd. My first visit September 1st was at department 31 of the Court Proceedings. I walked within the courtroom at 1:30pm to find myself observing multiple convicted citizens sharing a similar action of resisting their probation of the law. Some of the probations problems mainly related to restraining orders and many other complicated matters. The court ended at 3:00pm. On the 2nd of September at 1:00pm I decided to visit department 41 of the Court Proceedings. Once the court started the judge present the case at hand. The court basically handles family emotions and schedule appointments. So throughout the court session I was listening to lots of emotional business at hand. The court ended at

Ken Anderson the prosecutor in the case pled guilty to failing to disclose and got 10 days in jail, and 500 hours of community service.

You know how sometimes you’re waiting in line, and the person a few spots ahead of you is in an argument with the cashier? It sucks. That one person is holding up the entire line just because they are incapable of coming to an agreement with the cashier. And now, because of them, your entire day is thrown off, simply because two parties could not reach a mutual agreement with each other. In a nutshell, this is plea bargaining. Imagine that the person a few spots ahead of you is a prosecutor and the cashier is the defendant in court. It is the exact same thing. Plea bargaining is a term used when the two parties reach a mutual agreement in a court of law. Usually it involves a little bit of give, and a little bit of take from both parties,

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