Plea Bargaining Essay Example For Students

Plea Bargaining Essay Plea Bargaining: The most common arguement offered on behalf of plea bargaining is that itlifts theburden of heavy caseloads from the shoulders of the courts. By ensuring thatmost criminaldefendants enter a plea of guilty, plea bargaining eliminates the need fortime-consuming trialprocedures-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Category:LawPaper Title:Plea BargainingText:The most common arguement offered on behalf of plea bargaining is that itlifts theburden of heavy caseloads from the shoulders of the courts. By ensuring thatmost criminaldefendants enter a plea of guilty, plea bargaining eliminates the need fortime-consuming trialprocedures. Harold J. Rothwax, a Manhattan judge said, We go to pleabargaining out ofnecessity, not out of desire. It is inescapable. Criminal defendantscharged with felonies couldcompletely overcome the court system if they coordinated their efforts. If even half of the 90%of the defendants who now plead guilty should request trial, the judicialsystem would breakdown from overload, said B.J. George Jr. Although society wouldcertainly respond to asubstantially overburdened court system by allotting more resources to it,such s responce wouldlikely be slow. Proponents of plea bargaining argue that it allows the accused to have agreater degree ofautonomy over the results of their cases. Unlike a system without a pleabargaining, in which adefendant either pleads guilty without meeting with the prosecutor or pleadsinnocent and thengoes through the trial process, plea bargaining allows the defendant theintermediate option ofpleading guilty to avoid a harsh penalty. This arguement sees plea bargainingas an extra checkin the criminal justice system to ensure that the autonomy and liberty of theaccused is respectedby the state. Plea bargaining also protects innocent defendants from thepossibility of harshsanctions. Unfortunate innocent defendants who realize that the case themagainst them is toooverwhelming to gain leniency from the judge or to win acquittal from a jurymay view pleabargaining as an attractive alternative to trial. Without plea bargaining,many of these innocentdefendants would be found guilty and sentenced. Of course, plea barg ainingdoes not violateones right to trial, as defendants always have the option to plead notguilty and be tried by ajury. Proponents of plea bargaining point out that prosecutors do not forceanyone to pleabargain. Although plea bargaining is not perfect, the pressures placed on the courtsystem make itthe best way to promote justice. Critics of the practice tend to focus onlyon the relativelyinsignificant number of cases where plea bargaining results in injustice. When evaluating theeffectiveness of plea bargaining in promoting justice, it is important tofocus equally on itsstrengths. In most cases, plea bargaining is a fair and efficient way to dealwith cases. Mostguilty defendants will be convicted with or without plea bargaining, and mostinnocentdefendants will be acquitted. Therefore, plea bargaining is usually anacceptable and moreefficient alternative to trial. One important positive effect that pleabargaining has on thecriminal justice system is that it preserves the seriousness of the innocentplea. With pleabargaining, innocent pleas are few and far between, making the judge andattorneys moreattentive during trials. Without plea bargaining, guilty defendants have lessof an incentive toplead guilty and more of an incentive to go to trial. With more trials toattend to, and with mostdefendants being ultimately found guilty, the cases of the few innocentdefendants who needtrials the most might not recieve the proper amount of attention fro m judgesor attorneys. .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d , .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .postImageUrl , .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d , .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:hover , .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:visited , .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:active { border:0!important; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:active , .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf2568fb1c1e7c2fedffce32fd0a26d6d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Globalization Migration EssayThe efficiency excuse can only be used by the most overburdened courts. Prosecutorsworking in rural areas with relatively low caseloads use plea bargaining justas prosecutors whowork in major cities. Additionally, plea bargaining was used decades ago,when courts in generalwere not as overburdened as they are today. These observations, according toopponents of pleabargaining, suggest that necessity is not the only explanation for thewidespread use of thepractice. An alternative explanation not cited by plea bargaining proponentsis that the practicelifts burdens not only from the courts, but from the shoulders of the judgesand attorneys whowork within them. Attorneys and judges realize that the trials requiresignificantly more personaleffort and time than plea bargaining. When the court has heard all of thecases on the docket, thejudge and public attorneys are free to spend their time outside of thecourtroom. Thus, theincentives for public attorneys and judges to use plea bargaining are oftenpersonal. In light ofthis observation, the often cited efficiency excuse does not seem valid. Asone scholar wiselyobserved, regardless of the caseload, there will always be too manycases for many of theparticipants in the system, since most of them have a strong interest inbeing some place otherthan court. Plea bargaining presents a substantial threat to the liberties of theaccused, especiallythose who are innocent. Prosecutors bargain with the harshest sentence thatthey think thedefendant will accept in exchange for a guilty plea. Indeed, because judgestend to sentenceconvicted defendants who plead innocent with much harsher penalties thandefendants whoplead guilty. Defendants who are clearly guilty would probably be better offpleading guiltyeven without a plea bargain. On the other hand, a prosecutor will offer moresubstantialconcessions to innocent defendants who would have relatively high chances ofacquittal if theircases were to go to trial. Thus, plea bargaining allows the prosecutor toensure that innocentdefendants will be just as likely as guilty defendants to plead guilty tosome charge. Plea bargaining violates many basic principles upon which our criminaljustice systemrests. One of these principles is that it is better to let ten guilty personsgo free than it is toconvict one innocent person. Plea bargaining attempts to ensure that everyoneis convicted,albeit with a lighter sentence than if he or she had been found guilty intrial. For the innocent,conviction is clearly an injustice, but the injustice of convicting thecriminal through pleabargaining is often overlooked. By ensuring that criminals recieve lightersanctions, pleabargaining represents an injustice to society. If the criminal justice systemis viewed as a systemwith the end of protecting citizens, plea bargaining and its leniency towardguilty defendantsthreatens to undermine the system by depriving it of the ability to detercrime and reform theoffenders. While the doctrine of letting ten innocent defendants go free isnot written in theConstitution, the doctrine that no person shall be compelled in anycrim inal case to be a witnessagainst himself is This Fifth Amendment right is violated by pleabargaining, in which theguilty plea, in light of the possibility of more lenient sanctions, iscompelling. If oneincriminates oneself by pleading guilty, the plea bargain violates the FifthAmendment. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court made an exception for plea bargaining inNorth Carolina v. Alford, in which it held that Alford, who would have pled innocent to murderhad in not been forplea bargaining, was bound to his plea bargain. Alfords testimony revealsthat he was indeedcompelled to plead guilty, thus incriminating himself: I pleaded guiltyon second degree murderbecause they said there is too much evidence, but I aint shot no man, but Itake the fault for theother man. We never had an arguement in our life and I just pleaded guiltybecause they said if Ididnt they would gas me for it, and that is all. Finally, pleabargaining violates the principlethat guilt or innocence should only be determined by those deemed fit to doso. In our society,only judges and fairly selected juries enjoy that status.Plea bargainingtakes already difficultdecisions out of the hands of qualified and socially sanctioned individualsand places them in thehands of attorneys, who are then subjected to serious financial andother temptations todisregard their clients interests, said A.W. Alschuler. M oreover, bymaking attorneys viewthemselves as judges and administrators rather than as advocates,plea bargaining transformsreal judges into ineffective figureheads who cannot fulfill the role expectedof them by thosewho appointed them. .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 , .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .postImageUrl , .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 , .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:hover , .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:visited , .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:active { border:0!important; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:active , .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1 .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub09d7fbfd7d8fdb22bc86de4a0a114a1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Early Western Civilization A Gift of Peace from th Essay-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-