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Plea Bargaining Essay

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What is Plea Bargaining?
Plea bargaining is a common practice in the criminal justice system that results in most criminal convictions. Plea Bargaining can happen from charging a defendant to before a verdict is attained. Normally, it involves a negotiation between the prosecutor and defense attorney to arrive at a bargain, which can lead to reduced charges and a shorter sentence. Through plea bargaining, the prosecution may decrease the number of charges against the defendant and suggest a more lenient punishment, such as probation. In exchange for a guilty plea, the prosecutor may also offer to change the charge to one that is deemed more socially acceptable. Defendants have three plea options - guilty, not guilty, and nolo contendere. A …show more content…

The textbook says, “we tend to treat people as individuals. One person who commits a robbery is not the same as another person who commits a robbery” (Dempsey) This illustrates the unfairness of the use of discretion. "The process may result in waivers by defendants of their constitutional rights, unequal representation by counsel, the threat of unequal sentencing, and the possibility that guilty pleas will be entered by innocent defendants. Moreover, courts are not required to accept any plea agreements." (McDonough) Statements made during plea bargaining can be used in court if the agreement falls through. Douglas Smith stated plea bargaining "can be used by influential defendants to evade legal sanctions… the belief that defendants convicted at trial are sentenced more harshly than those convicted by plea." (Smith, 1986) According to Smith, plea bargaining is characterized as a series of "threats and promises by legal officials that induce defendants to forfeit many of their legal rights and plead guilty." (Smith, 1986) Columbia Law Review argued that defense attorneys have a culture of accepting guilty pleas, stating that "an opponent of 'bargain justice' may seek comfort in the concept of a bygone golden age in which plea negotiation was unknown." (Alschuler, 1979) The textbook brings up the concern that police heavily impact plea deals, “The police officer is generally the first decision maker in the U.S. criminal justice system and often the most important.” (Dempsey) An officers decisions can impact the prosecutions defense. Plea bargaining raises concerns about the risk of innocent people being wrongfully convicted if they’re persuaded to accept a plea

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The upside of accepting a plea deal usually involves the defendant's pleading guilty to a lesser charge, or to only one of several charges. The agreements allow prosecutors to turn their attention and resources on other cases, and reduce the number of trials that judges need to attend. Though by accepting a plea deal one pleads guilty to one charge which usually results on your record forever because you plead guilty and didn't take your chance of proving your innocence by going to trial. For example if Larry Servedio did not want to accept his plea deal of two consecutive state prison terms of seven-and-a-half years by pleading guilty to two felony counts of second-degree kidnapping and go to trial he would face the possibility of losing the case and be sentenced to longer terms in prison. For the prosecution it saves them time but most important it helps the judges not overcrowd prisons by sentencing criminals to short terms which usually keeps them within their county lines.

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Criminal trials are not perfect, but by requiring evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, they can prevent several miscarriages of justice. Considering that innocent individuals may arrive at trial for misidentification, police misconduct or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, these individuals are at a disadvantage since by being offered plea deals they avoid trial and avoid the burden of “ beyond a reasonable doubt,” required to be pronounced guilty. Thus, in a CJ system saturated with cases, plea bargains become a mechanism for prosecutors and defense attorneys to bypass trials. For defendants, the fear of incarceration and the unpredictability of juries or judges create the conditions of coercion that might persuade defendants to prefer plea deals over

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Plea bargaining is an unethical practice because it can force innocent men to plead guilty, defense lawyers often can't see the evidence in time to advise their client, and it lets criminals get away with a lighter sentence than they should. The innocent pleading guilty The concept of an innocent man pleading guilty was far fetched in 19941. Which is truly surprising.

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Prosecutors have the power to send offenders away which allows them to make harsh decisions. They offer plea bargains to offenders which often will enable them to do time in prison. Pfaff stated that "as long as prosecutors simply use the tough laws as a bargaining chip, not real punishment, legislators can reap the political benefits of looking tough on crime while avoiding difficult financial decisions" (Pfaff, 2017, P136). Prosecutors offer a plea bargain to get rid of cases quickly and not allow offenders to go to trial because they might receive more prison

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A plea bargain is an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant in a criminal case. The prosecutor gives the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge or to the original charge with less than the maximum sentence. For example, the prosecution and the defense may agree to a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony charge or the parties may agree to a sentence of 12 years instead of 20 years if the recommended sentence for that crime is 10-20 years imprisonment.

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The United States Supreme Court did not see a difference between a defendant who says he is innocent while entering a plea bargain and a defendant who admits to the crime. The Court cited Brady v. United States. In Brady v. United States it was held that “a guilty plea which would not have been plead for unless the defendant wanted to avoid the death penalty and to lower the maximum penalty to life imprisonment was not forced under the Fifth Amendment.” The plea was a voluntary and an intelligent alternative for Alford. The Court took into thought the evidence provided by witnesses which showed his guilt.

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There are many issues associated with plea bargaining. The accused could benefit with the possibility of a reduced or combined charges, reduced attorney fees, and the chance of a reduced or shorter sentence that may be imposed by going to trial. Plea bargaining can also give the prosecutors the ability to convict the accused even if they have a weak case and there is question whether or not they can get a conviction. It also will save time and resources necessary for trial. This will apply to defense attorneys as well, they may be unsure of their ability to get an acquittal for their client; however, in some cases the accused many know in his heart that he is innocent and want to go to trial.

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Defendants are in great pressure to lie to their counsel regarding guilt or innocence. If the defendant decides to admit his or her guilt, it makes it difficult to help the defendant. Or if the defendant lies about involvement it is difficult to negotiate plea bargains or the plea agreement given. This scenario poses an ethical dilemma for the attorney, which is to permit a client to lie in court and plea guilty when they indicted their innocence. With the plea bargain the defendant is able to freely tell the truth with the knowledge that plea bargain will exist whether he denies guilt or not.

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Plea bargains are negotiations between the prosecutor and the criminal defendant. In this negotiation, the criminal defendant consents to pleading guilty. When the criminal defendant takes the guilty plea, he or she is able receive reductions in their charges or sentences. There are pros and cons of plea bargains, but these bargains can be doing more harm than good. Plea bargaining is a simple process but can have long term repercussions.

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Moreover, once the detainees agree to the plea guilty, they give up their right to contest or appeal their sentence and brings finality to each case. In that situation, the become legally guilty since the defendant is “guilty as charged” (The Courts, 2013, p. 151). The method of plea bargaining streamlines and reduces the time needed for each case, thus, creating a mechanism for achieving efficiency. Under the crime control model, it is important to have finality mainly because it allows cases to be disposed of quickly and it makes sure that there will be a deterrent

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In the United States court system, many criminal cases are not resolved in a timely manner. One of the more common ways in which many cases are resolved quickly is through plea bargaining. Plea bargaining is defined as an agreement between defense attorneys and prosecutors. (Spohn & Hemmens, 2012) Alschuler (1979) describes plea bargaining as the self-conviction act of a defendant. Today, approximately ninety percent of defendants plead guilty because of plea bargaining.

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Plea bargaining is essential to the efficient function of the criminal justice system, where such agreements can conserve judicial and prosecutorial resources and offer defendants alternatives to trial. Plea agreements accomplish this by allowing defendants to plead guilty in exchange for certain benefits, which then reduces the amount of cases going to court. When fewer cases go to trial, resources can be allocated so that more serious cases can be tried in court, while lesser offenses can be resolved quickly through a plea, allowing often overworked judges and prosecutors to devote less time to individual cases, and complete more cases within a given time period. In contrast, if all cases went to court it would be infeasible to devote

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Plea Bargaining Plea bargaining is the negotiations between prosecutors and defense lawyers on how to resolve criminal charges (Fagin pg.177). The defendant carries the guilty plea in return for a reduction sentence or dismissal of some charges. Estimates state that 97% of federal cases have used this method without ever going to trial (Fagin pg.177). Once all sides agree, the actual sentencing is completely up to the judge, not the lawyers.

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Many wonder about its effectiveness and authority. The plea is well known in and outside the courtroom, yet it is rarely used. If a plea is put into action, it draws major attention to cases. An acceptable punishment should align with the offense. Innocent until proven guilty is a constitutional right

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