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Plea Bargaining and Crime Essay
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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, it constitutes Sentence Bargaining. 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…
Sample Source(s) Used
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
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