Pros And Cons Of Plea Bargaining

Plea bargaining is the process by which the prosecution and defense reach an agreement resulting in a guilty plea from the defendant that results in a reduced charge, reduced sentence, or some other concession favorable to the defendant is the definition from chapter twelve “Plea Bargaining and Guilty Pleas” of the book Courts of Criminal Justice in America (Siegel). In criminal cases, this is an agreement to avoid the trial to be long; instead of taking the lawsuit to a jury, the prosecutor and the defendant work together to find something in which they can agree. It usually includes pleading for a smaller charge and pleading guilty in return for a lesser sentence. Most cases in the United States are settled through plea bargain rather than

There are various arguments in support of plea bargaining; for example, it is beneficial because it helps the state and the court contribute with caseloads. This process allows the prosecutor’s work load decrease; this lets them prepare for more dangerous trials and leaving the easy charges to settle through. “A quickly reached plea bargaining may give victims the satisfaction of having the case closed quickly; in addition, victims may not want to testify or risk the possibility that the prosecution will not succeed in obtaining conviction(Seigel).” Because trial cases are congested to schedule, plea bargaining helps the scheduling process less jammed. The main advantage for someone accepting a plea bargaining is that a judge can ease the need to schedule and hold a trial on an agenda that may already be overloaded. The website, Connect Us, also states, “judges are also aware of overcrowding in jails, so they might be receptive to process out offenders who are unlikely to do much jail time anyway. This means cases will be closed much quicker, which is good for the society as the method de-clogs court systems for more serious cases.” Plea bargaining also rushes the course of cases. They are an important influence in rearranging offenders by allowing them to agree to the responsibility for their case. Also, it lets them willingly surrender before the law without having costly and inefficient cases. Defensive attorney is advantageous of plea bargaining. The book states, “public defenders face resources constraints like those of prosecutors, and plea-bargaining benefits them both by allowing quick disposition of cases and by allowing them to focus on cases that they perceive as being worthy of trial (Seigel).” The court also welfares from plea bargaining because this takes less time than a long trial. The process of plea bargaining