Plea Bargaining Paper

Plea Bargaining Paper

Plea Bargaining Paper

Introduction

In some cases it is faster and more cost effective to offer plea bargaining. This paper will define plea bargaining, distinguish between charge and sentence bargaining, compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining. This paper will describe how plea bargaining reflects or thwarts the crime control and due process models of criminal justice. The “majority of criminal convictions in the United States result from guilty pleas rather than trials. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011) “

Define Plea Bargaining

Plea bargaining is a tool that allows attorneys to decide the outcome of a case and skip going to trial. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011) According the the book, plea bargaining “the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case” (Larry J. Siegel, 2011), and went on to describe that the court still had to approve the plea bargains.

Distinguish between charge bargaining and sentence bargaining

Charge bargaining is when the prosecution has the advantage and will negotiate on which charges will be filed. When the defendant agrees to plead guilty in return of a less serious sentence, it is known as sentence bargaining. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011)

Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining

There are many advantages to plea bargaining, many of them benefit the tax payers. By allowing plea bargaining the allows the District attorneys to deal with their ever increasing workloads. The DAs are able to create mutual interests in avoiding conflict in the courts with plea bargaining. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011) The plea bargaining system helps with the public defenders as they too are normally lacking sufficient resources to properly defend their clients at times. The plea bargaining allows for private practices to work more efficiently and in turn saves their clients money as the defenses time was not needed as long as anticipated. The victims benefit as well by closing cases quickly and so the victims are able to place the incident behind them.

With every advantage there are also disadvantages, criminal defendants lose their chance at an acquittal, sometimes important rights. The prosecution may also lose on their ability to prosecute if a deal is offered too quickly. One of major disadvantages is that plea bargaining does and will continue to damage the honesty of the justice system. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011)

References

Larry J. Siegel, F. S (2011). Courts and Criminal Justice in America. Pearson Education.