Plea bargaining
Plea bargaining is a common practice in the criminal justice system, wherein defendants agree to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for reduced sentences or the dismissal of other charges. This method offers benefits to both defendants and prosecutors; defendants may secure lighter penalties and protect their criminal records, while prosecutors save time and resources by avoiding lengthy trials. The initiation of plea bargains can come from either party and often aims to mitigate the potential consequences of a trial, such as reputational harm for defense attorneys or the risk of harsher sentences for defendants.
Plea agreements can involve various arrangements, including the reduction of charges from more serious offenses to lesser ones or the conditional dismissal of certain charges. Although judges are typically not privy to these negotiations and do not formally endorse them, the outcomes can significantly impact the cases at hand. Despite its practical advantages, plea bargaining often faces criticism from the public and policymakers, with concerns about justice and fairness in the judicial process. Nevertheless, the limited resources available to prosecutors and the complexities of criminal cases suggest that plea bargaining will likely remain a prevalent aspect of the legal landscape.
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Plea bargaining
SIGNIFICANCE: Plea bargaining is a frequent practice, with many criminal cases being resolved out of court when both sides reach an agreement. Both sides in cases see advantages for themselves by striking successful bargains. Defendants seek reduced sentences and perhaps less damning criminal records; prosecutors seek to reduce the costs and time consumed by trials while assuring convictions.
Plea bargains might be initiated by either side in criminal cases. One study indicates that one reason for plea bargaining is to save the cost, time, and reputation of the defense attorney. That person must deal with the same judge, prosecutor, and police officers in other cases and does not want to get a bad reputation. Furthermore, the defense attorney must make a living and does not want to get bogged down in difficult cases for little money. However, the plea bargain might be initiated by a more self-sacrificing defense attorney or by the state.
The plea bargain typically involves reducing the seriousness of charges against a defendant. Instead of battery, for example, the charge might be changed to assault or to disturbing the peace. Instead of murder, the accusation might be changed to manslaughter. Another type of plea bargain involves dropping some charges against the defendant and keeping others. For example, encouraging the prosecution to drop a charge of selling cocaine and retain a charge of possessing marijuana might be the goal of plea bargaining. Still another objective of plea bargaining involves a defendant’s pleading guilty to a charge with the understanding that the sentence will be lighter instead of heavier.
The judge is officially not in on the bargain, and whether the judge has been consulted is a matter that only the judge and the attorney know. Some judges refuse to be consulted, and all or almost all conduct themselves as if they had not been consulted. It is typical, for example, for judges to tell defendants in court that they cannot, and have not been asked to, reduce the defendants’ sentences in return for pleas of guilty. The defendants must act on faith and on the advice of their defense attorneys. An attorney who finds that the prosecution (and the judge, if consulted) will not abide by the bargain is unlikely to bargain again, and that can be harmful to the offending attorney.
Some defendants plead guilty to charges even though they consider themselves to be innocent to be spared the expenses of trials or the ordeals of long sentences. It is difficult to say how often that happens, because many defendants contend after sentencing that they are innocent. Plea bargaining is frequently condemned by the public and by politicians, but unless the time, help, and budget of the prosecutor is unlimited, it is likely to continue.
Bibliography
Fisher, George. Plea Bargaining’s Triumph: A History of Plea Bargaining in America. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2003. Print.
"How Courts Work: Steps in a Trial: Plea Bargaining." American Bar Association. ABA, 28 Nov. 2021, www.americanbar.org/groups/public‗education/resources/law‗related‗education‗network/how‗courts‗work/pleabargaining/. Accessed 8 July 2024.
Rakoff, Jed S. "Why Innocent People Plead Guilty." New York Review of Books. NYREV, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 31 May 2016.
Research Handbook on Plea Bargaining and Criminal Justice. Maximo Langer, Mike McConville, and Luke Marsh, editors. Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc., 2024.
Rosett, Arthur I. Justice by Consent: Plea Bargains in the American Courthouse. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1976. Print.
Vogel, Mary E. Coercion to Compromise: Social Conflict and the Emergence of Plea Bargaining, 1830–1920. Rev. ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.