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Plea Bargaining
Many criminal cases are often resolved out of court through agreement between the aggrieved party and the offender. The process of achieving such a settlement is referred to as Plea Bargain in law. It is a practice that is used in many jurisdictions to resolve cases. Either of the sides in the case may initiate the Plea bargain process. Both sides have to agree before such a process succeeds (How Courts Work | Public Education). The Plea-Bargaining process involves pleading guilty by a defendant to a lesser charge. It may also involve pleading guilty to only one or all of the charges leveled; with the prosecuting attorney pleading for or recommending leniency in the sentences. It should be noted that the judge is not bound by the recommendation for leniency by the prosecution. Some plea bargains are approved by courts while others are not.
Sentence Bargaining and Charge Bargaining
In sentence bargaining, the defendant pleads guilty to the charges after both sides agree on the type of sentence recommended by the prosecution. If, for instance, defendant named Jerry agrees to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest, and the prosecution agrees to recommend that the defendant be sentenced to a jail term,...
On the other hand, in Charge bargaining, a defendant pleads guilty to a less serious charge, or pleads to the least severe of the charges. Terry, for instance, may agree to plead guilty to trespass when the original charge was burglary. If the prosecution agrees to drop the burglary charge, the process is then referred to Charge Bargaining (Schwartzbach).
Plea Bargaining- Advantages and Disadvantages
One of the immediate benefits of Plea Bargaining is that the courts and the state are enabled to dispense with case workloads much faster. Prosecutors are also relieved in terms of their workload providing them with more time to handle the more serious cases pending in courts. In criminal defense, the process of Plea Bargaining also helps to remove the element of uncertainty in criminal trials (Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining | OccupyTheory). The defendants are assured that no more serious crime charges will be filed against them. The process helps to bring the offender to face realities and enforces their submission to the law. They (defendants), in the process agree to take the blame for their prosecution. They save the courts, the prosecutions and all other parties involved the…
References
American Bar Association. How Courts Work | Public Education. (n.d.). Retrieved January 4, 2017, from http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/pleabargaining.html
Liberal Arts Outreach. (n.d.). The Crime Control Model -- Introduction to Criminal Justice. Retrieved January 4, 2017, from http://elearning.la.psu.edu/crim/100/lesson-1/the-crime-control-model
OccupyTheory | Online magazine about issues related to the Occupy movement. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining | OccupyTheory. Retrieved January 4, 2017, from http://occupytheory.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-plea-bargaining/
Schwartzbach. (n.d.). Lawyers, Legal Forms, Law Books & Software, Free Legal Information - Nolo.com. What are the different kinds of plea bargaining? | Nolo.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017, from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-the-different-kinds-plea-bargains.html
Plea Bargain The objective of this study is to answer as to whether justice is served when a defendant is allowed to plea-bargain his or her case in court and why. This process is such that the prosecutor enables the defendant to plead guilty to a charge that is lesser than the original charge with less maximum sentence than the original charge. There are many various factors that determine whether each case
Very often, plea bargains allow the defendant to agree to perform some socially beneficial tasks for the purpose of deterring similar crimes which are more beneficial to society than traditional incarceration. For example, those charged with littering might agree to clean up highways while wearing signs publicizing the embarrassing consequences of littering or those charged with petty thefts like shoplifting wearing signs identifying their crimes publicly in lieu of ninety-day
Plea Bargains From a gut level reaction, emotions start to boil whenever a show like this is aired. Questions about how the greatest country in the world can have such obvious flaws in a justice system that has been the envy of the worldwide legal community start to surface. Additionally, heartstrings are tugged, citizens are moved to make demands, and groups involved. What a great country we have! The next reaction
Plea Bargaining Pleading for Justice Plea bargaining by its very nature implies negotiation, which in turn means that two or more parties are seeking to achieve specific goals with the cooperation of the other parties. In the absence of plea bargaining the parties would face each other in court as adversaries in front of a referee and their conduct and the trial's proceedings would be strictly controlled according to the law and
The ethical considerations have been addressed in the survey by the elements of the plea bargain provided to the individuals surveyed. Herzog's study shall serve as the model for the study proposed here. This study should serve anyone interested in understanding the public opinion and perceptions as they relate to plea bargaining. References (recommended) www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5013705813 Bibas, S. (2005). White-Collar Plea Bargaining and Sentencing after Booker. William and Mary Law Review, 47(3), 721+.
" This means that, "It is an indictment of the criminal justice system, not plea bargaining itself" (Sandefur, 2003, p. 31). The Constitution incorporated the right to a trial into the process, and it does not necessarily entail that: the defendant needs to know his rights in waiving them or hiring a legal counsel to help. Sandefur finally stated that, "Plea bargaining is not perfect, but its problems are procedures