Plea Bargaining Research Paper

Plea bargain are intend for when the prosecutor has enough evidence to put some into prison they can reduce they charges they are being tried with. This will also reduce

Prosecutors benefit from plea bargaining because it enables them to secure high conviction rates while avoiding the expense, uncertainty, and opportunity costs of trials. By obtaining guilty pleas, prosecutors can pursue more cases, potentially resulting in greater aggregate deterrent or incapacitative effects with a finite amount of resources. Overloadded courts also benefit from plea bargains and why its common. The US Supreme court has recognized plea bargain as necessary for excessive courts. ”Our office keeps the courtrooms busy trying 5 percent of the cases, if even 10 percent end in a trial the system would break down”( Zimring and Frase,1980:506).

• Plea-bargaining weakens the criminal justice system with the concept that if all cases went to trial the court system would be unable to support the workload. This is a factor that can be disputed by jurisdictions that have ban plea bargaining and continued to operate appropriately. Plea-bargaining is known as the agreement in a criminal court proceeding that is made between a defendant and a prosecutor. Plea bargains typically involve a lesser sentence in return for an omission of wrongdoing. Plea bargains do not forsake the criminal justice system, however they do allow for a speedy exit strategy for prosecutors.

Pleas also give the defendant some certainty in sentencing, where often charges are reduced or withdrawn, and the range of sentencing options decreases when a deal is struck with the prosecutor. The mitigation of the sentence can have a positive effect on the defendant, because it has been shown that longer and harsher sentences do not reduce the risk of recidivism and can be detrimental to the offender. Longer jail terms are also more expensive than less restrictive sanctions, so this can also reduce the spending of state money. and spare victims the trauma of testifying in

Both sides will carefully weigh the strength of their case and decide whether it is prudent to go to trial. The prosecution may also consider the publicity surrounding the case and whether there is public pressure to prosecute that particular defendant to the full extent of the law. The defense will consider the individual defendant’s desire to go to trial and the seriousness of the potential sentence. The Pros of Plea Bargaining

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.

Those who support plea bargaining say the greatest benefit of plea bargaining "is the savings in time and expense to the parties, the court, and the public" (Plea Bargaining). Another benefit claimed by those who are in favor of plea bargaining is "that docket pressures are too great and that prosecutors lack the time to pursue all indictments because there are simply too many" (Dever). Plea bargains aren’t perfect, though. In addition to these advantages, there are exploitations in the process that usually harm the defendant. The opponents of plea bargaining state that "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" (Plea Bargaining).

PLEA BARGAINING Plea bargaining is a process of negotiation and results in a plea agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor for lesser charges. Basically, plea bargaining circumvents the trial process by evading more serious charges. About 97% of federal cases and 94% of state cases are disposed of by this method without ever going to trial. There can be advantages and disadvantages to this.

A plea bargain is an optional agreement that occurs during a criminal case between a prosecutor and defendant. These agreements are options for the defendant to take rather than taking their case to trial. Ninety-seven percent of all federal cases and ninety-four of all state cases are all settled by plea bargains() Plea bargaining has become a normal process when it comes to court cases. Although every individual has their own beliefs, plea bargaining helps out our criminal justice system but in contrast it is taking away from the value of the criminal justice system. Just like in every story we are faced with two different sides a positive and a negative.

If a defendant is truly innocent, then they have an undeniable right to a trial and a chance for acquittal through cross-examination of evidence and witnesses. As seen in Erma Faye Stewart’s case in The Plea, she claimed she was innocent but took the plea deal for a lesser sentence. The main prosecutorial witness in her case was found to be unreliable, which acquitted those who did not plea guilty, like Regina Kelley. Erma was still sentenced due to her guilty plea, but would have been acquitted if she had also been truthful in the court. This reveals not an issue of plea bargaining but of human nature.

Sometimes, the best strategy for a drug crime defense attorney is to negotiate a plea bargain. A plea bargain is an agreement between the defense and prosecution, in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for reduced charges or a more lenient sentence. This strategy may be appropriate if the evidence against the defendant is strong, or if there is a risk of a harsh sentence if the case goes to trial. Presenting Mitigating Factors

The United States criminal justice system is riddled with cases of many varieties. Some have obvious outcomes while others warrant more detailed analysis. However, some cases go beyond the court into other courts, where they are decided, such as Jackson versus Hobbs in 2012. The courts try to lighten the load of cases they have by offering plea bargaining, an agreement among a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to a charge that is less severe than what he or she is initially charged for in the hopes that clemency will be administered. Sometimes, however, people accused of a crime are completely innocent, and it is not until technology is released, such as DNA testing, decades later that these people are proved to

“In courtrooms around the country, more than nine out of every ten defendants surrendered any chance of acquittal, abandoned the constitutional right to a jury trial, and asked courts to enter judgments against them” (Gilchrist, 2016, p. 611). Plea bargaining is a complicated part of the criminal justice system. Negotiations happen before or during a trial and often the exact details of a plea bargain are unknown to anyone beyond those who are directly affected. This system can work to the advantage of criminal defendants and their attorneys, but also can lead to abuses of the system on the part of the defense, each of which I will address in turn. First, from a legal standpoint, the ubiquity of plea bargaining has led to its recognition

“Convictions generated through plea bargaining are less related to the evidence, and, hence, to actual guilt, than convictions generated by trial” (GilChrist). This serves as an injustice to society because the plea has no restrictions or prerequisites. In order to reform the policy, the article suggest that plea bargains must have some type of evidence of actual guilt before the plea can be given so it will not put those who are innocent in the same category of those who are truly guilty. Allowing the innocent to believe they stand a chance in a trial is important. “Compelling the innocent to lie in order to secure the benefit of a plea bargain further undermines the perceived integrity of the legal system by denying the defendant of a meaningful opportunity to be heard” (GilChrist).

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.