Plea Bargaining Research Paper
Plea-bargaining Paper
Julio L. Aguilera
CJA/224
June 26, 2013
Russell Galbreath
Plea-bargaining Paper
Plea-bargaining is a very useful tool that can be implemented by attorneys in the justice system. Attorneys can use plea-bargaining to take the decision of innocent or guilty out of the judges and jurors hands, and decide the defendant’s fate without going to trial. When researching the term plea-bargaining It is stated in the course textbook that there is no agreed-upon definition of the term plea-bargaining, However the textbook does refer to Black 's Law Dictionary 's Definition of plea-bargaining which is: “the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case …show more content…
subject to court approval [that] usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only or some of the counts of a multicounty indictment in return for a lighter sentence than the possible for the graver charge”(Gardner, 1990).
Charge bargaining and sentence bargaining are two types of plea-bargaining that attorneys will use when offering a defendant the plea-bargaining option. Charge bargaining refers to the prosecutor’s ability to negotiate with the defendant in terms of the charges that could be filed; sentence bargaining occurs when a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a less serious sentence(Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2011). Plea-bargaining is good for the fact that it brings the court convictions of criminals. There are advantages of plea-bargaining for the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, defendant, and victim. First the prosecutor obtains a conviction which is always a good day in their book. The defense attorney also has the advantage when this option is agreed on for the fact that he or she gets their client a lighter …show more content…
conviction. When plea-bargaining is used the case see 's very little judicial review which results in some workload of the case being removed from the judge’s hands. The defendant and the victim also have advantages when the option of plea-bargain is reached, first we will start with the defendant he or she can receive a lighter sentence when accepting the option while the victim on the other hand receives the benefits of the conviction. There can also be disadvantages to plea-bargaining for the defendant and the victim; the defendant loses the chances of an acquittal, while the victim may feel justice was not served for the fact that the defendant could receive a lighter sentence. Prosecutors have been known for misusing plea-bargaining in the past when giving a defendant this option and getting them to plead guilty when the defendant was in fact innocent. Defense attorneys also have been known for misusing this process for the fact that they use it to draw out the court process and buy up time. When it comes to the two opposing models of the criminal justice system which are due process model and crime control model each side thinks a little differently on the subject of plea-bargaining.
The "tough on crime" side mighht say that they are not in favor of the plea-bargaining system for the fact that it lets criminals get away with a lesser charge and lighter sentence which many would say isn’t fair to the victim. Those who want to protect due process rights on the other hand would rule in favor of the plea-bargaining system because it gives the people a chance at lesser sentence which they would say protects the people from the abuse of the justice system. All in all the plea-bargaining system has its pros and cons. All roles in the court system have the chance to benefit when plea-bargaining is used over the option of going to trial. Well some critics will stand by their reason that they believe plea-bargaining allows criminals to get away with their crimes due to the possibility of lighter sentencing, Others would refer to the positives a plea-bargain brings for example the victims chance to receive retribution right away without having to waste time with a long drawn out
trial.
References
Gardner, B. A. (1990). Blacks Law Dictionary (6th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West.
Siegel, L. J., Schmalleger, F., & Worrall, J. L. (2011). Courts and Criminal Justice in America (student ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc..
Julio L. Aguilera
CJA/224
June 26, 2013
Russell Galbreath
Plea-bargaining Paper
Plea-bargaining is a very useful tool that can be implemented by attorneys in the justice system. Attorneys can use plea-bargaining to take the decision of innocent or guilty out of the judges and jurors hands, and decide the defendant’s fate without going to trial. When researching the term plea-bargaining It is stated in the course textbook that there is no agreed-upon definition of the term plea-bargaining, However the textbook does refer to Black 's Law Dictionary 's Definition of plea-bargaining which is: “the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case …show more content…
subject to court approval [that] usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only or some of the counts of a multicounty indictment in return for a lighter sentence than the possible for the graver charge”(Gardner, 1990).
Charge bargaining and sentence bargaining are two types of plea-bargaining that attorneys will use when offering a defendant the plea-bargaining option. Charge bargaining refers to the prosecutor’s ability to negotiate with the defendant in terms of the charges that could be filed; sentence bargaining occurs when a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a less serious sentence(Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2011). Plea-bargaining is good for the fact that it brings the court convictions of criminals. There are advantages of plea-bargaining for the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, defendant, and victim. First the prosecutor obtains a conviction which is always a good day in their book. The defense attorney also has the advantage when this option is agreed on for the fact that he or she gets their client a lighter …show more content…
conviction. When plea-bargaining is used the case see 's very little judicial review which results in some workload of the case being removed from the judge’s hands. The defendant and the victim also have advantages when the option of plea-bargain is reached, first we will start with the defendant he or she can receive a lighter sentence when accepting the option while the victim on the other hand receives the benefits of the conviction. There can also be disadvantages to plea-bargaining for the defendant and the victim; the defendant loses the chances of an acquittal, while the victim may feel justice was not served for the fact that the defendant could receive a lighter sentence. Prosecutors have been known for misusing plea-bargaining in the past when giving a defendant this option and getting them to plead guilty when the defendant was in fact innocent. Defense attorneys also have been known for misusing this process for the fact that they use it to draw out the court process and buy up time. When it comes to the two opposing models of the criminal justice system which are due process model and crime control model each side thinks a little differently on the subject of plea-bargaining.
The "tough on crime" side mighht say that they are not in favor of the plea-bargaining system for the fact that it lets criminals get away with a lesser charge and lighter sentence which many would say isn’t fair to the victim. Those who want to protect due process rights on the other hand would rule in favor of the plea-bargaining system because it gives the people a chance at lesser sentence which they would say protects the people from the abuse of the justice system. All in all the plea-bargaining system has its pros and cons. All roles in the court system have the chance to benefit when plea-bargaining is used over the option of going to trial. Well some critics will stand by their reason that they believe plea-bargaining allows criminals to get away with their crimes due to the possibility of lighter sentencing, Others would refer to the positives a plea-bargain brings for example the victims chance to receive retribution right away without having to waste time with a long drawn out
trial.
References
Gardner, B. A. (1990). Blacks Law Dictionary (6th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West.
Siegel, L. J., Schmalleger, F., & Worrall, J. L. (2011). Courts and Criminal Justice in America (student ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc..