" However, in 1852, the Massachusetts legislature removed the prosecution's power to nol pros without the judge's consent. This eliminated the prosecution's key leverage over defendants in liquor cases: the power to charge and then drop some charges in exchange for a plea. Sure enough, the number of clear plea bargains dropped dramatically, and the number of trials increased concomitantly (Fisher, 2003)."

BENEFITS

There are numerous benefits to using the plea bargain system. The first and most important benefit from the standpoint of a prosecutor is the fact that it provides an automatic conviction. The prosecution does not have to worry about whether the evidence will hold up under the scrutiny of the system. They have to wonder if their witnesses will be believable during a traditional trial. In addition the prosecution is always at the mercy of the jury members. Jury members are human and subject to human emotion and error. A prosecutor faced with a trial will always be concerned that the jury will feel sorry for the defendant and even if convinced that the defendant committed the crime will acquit or provide a not guilty verdict.

All of these elements come into play when a defendant chooses to go to trial.

The plea bargain method also saves a significant amount of time and money. A trial involves not only the time and services of the government provided prosecution, it also often involves the expense of hiring expert witnesses and their accommodations during the trial period. The cost of legal investigations are also born by the state and federal taxpayers and can be quite costly.

The benefits of the plea bargain system far outweigh the negative elements of its use but there are some negative elements involved.

NEGATIVE ELEMENTS

When one decides to use a plea bargain arrangement rather than go to trial it...

While a plea bargain saves time and money for the taxpayers it often mandates that the defendant receive a lesser conviction and sentence than he or she would have received if a conviction from a full trial would obtain.
The victims and their families may feel that the plea bargain did not properly punish the defendant for the crimes committed against them.

The second negative aspect of the plea bargain system is the fact that it often creates the early release of the convicted defendant.

If a defendant is accused of a crime that would normally receive 25 years to life and the attorneys work out a plea bargain that person could feasibly be back on the streets in five to ten years to commit more crimes.

THE COMPARISON

While the pleas bargain system can create a situation in which criminals are released earlier than they would have been had they been convicted in a trial, the risk of trial and the defendant going free because of factors other than the defendant's guilt.

While there are pros and cons to the system the benefits far outweigh the negative elements because of the time and money that the system saves. It also provides as sure conviction with no possibility of the defendant walking free. As the courtrooms continue to have overflowing dockets the use of plea bargaining will most likely continue to grow with positive results to the nation's judicial system.