Advantages And Disadvantages Of Plea Bargain

Improved Essays
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of plea bargains. Make sure to list at least 2 reasons for each. Finally, do you support plea bargains? Why or why not?
The advantages of plea bargains is having the ability to have a lighter sentence for the defendant only if they plead guilty. Another advantages is having the defendant have the charges reduced, by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor instead of a felony. As there is advantages, it has many disadvantages to this bargain, it removes the right to a trial by a jury. The constitutional states that everyone has a right to a trial, it can be seen illegal to plea bargaining. Judges don’t have to follow the plea bargain agreement. If the judy doesn’t agree with the plea because it feels that
…show more content…
Distinguish between jails and prisons. Regarding prisons, explain FULLY what happened during the Attica revolt in the 1970s, including how the revolt ended. Provide a clear opinion as to whether you believe that a situation like Attica could occur today? Jails are short term placement for inmates. Jail is run by local law enforcement or local government agencies. They hold inmates that are waiting for trial or serving a short sentence for misdemeanors. Prisons are long term placement, they are operated by state government or federal. It holds inmates that have committed serious crimes which are considered felonies. Prison has different levels of security.
Attica was a prison in New York which was made of African Americans than any other race. They decided to riot because of the living conditions and be able to have more religion freedom. They wanted two U.S representatives to serve as negotiators and civilian observers. While that was happening hundreds of troops were showing up to Attica. They agree to improve the living conditions, but governor rejected amnesty. He declared to retake the prison with force. Troops used tear gas, and shot anyone that was trying to fight them. Inmates were shot more than once, as many as 43 died. Police said that the hostages were killed by the own inmates, but the autopsy revealed they were shot multiple times by

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Defense counsels started to feel that defendants will not be able to pay for the time involved to go to trial, but the prosecutors feel even though they work harder at a trial they are not having to decide on a sentence in a plea bargain. The judges now have the burden to determine and announce all sentences to defendants. The ban on plea bargaining did not affect the sentences of violent crime charges, but it did drastically change the sentences of Felony 3 guilty outcomes. The defendants convicted of burglary, larceny and destruction of property found themselves receiving longer sentences.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plea-bargaining is an important process in the criminal justice system and are used to prevent lengthy trials. It is defined as “the process of negotiating a guilty plea involving either charge bargaining, where the prosecutor will offer to reduce the severity of the charges or the number of counts in exchange for a guilty plea, or sentence bargaining, where the prosecutor will agree to recommend leniency at the sentencing stage” (Hemmens, Brody, & Spohn, 2013). However, there are both pros and cons with plea-bargaining. One reason why plea-bargaining is an advantage to the court system is because it helps to relieve caseloads since the prosecutor’s workload decreases when a defendant takes the bargain. Also, when a defendant goes this route,…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    At times, cases that go to trial are lengthy and if a defendant has a private attorney this can be costly. Another incentive would be that plea bargains provide a faster resolution and cause less stress than if the case had gone to trial. Overall, it may seem that plea bargains offer various benefits to the criminal justice system as whole and to the defendant. Therefore, a person viewing these factors may state that the usage of plea bargains leaves all parties better off; however, how better off are the parties…

    • 1441 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Accepting a plea bargain means the defendant is admitting guilt, so this gives the prosecutor an easy conviction. This process also saves all parties time. This saves the judge time in serving on a case, as well as public defenders' time because they have a large caseload. Private defense lawyers are also saved time that they would have needed to prepare for a case, and still recieve their fee without spending the time. Finally, the defendant is saved prison time because they would be offered a lesser time than the maximum sentence they could face.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plea bargaining most often takes place before the beginning of a trial. It is the process by which the defendant and the prosecution work out a conclusion to the case, subject to court approval. For the prosecutor, the purpose of plea bargaining is to ensure a defendant gets punishment. For the defense, it is a way to get a lesser charge than if the case were to go to…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Plea Bargaining ought to be abolished in the United States criminal justice system. The reason for this is because it is unconstitutional, unethical, and immoral. Firstly, it is unconstitutional as it requires offenders to waive the rights guaranteed by the 5th and 6th amendments: the right to a jury trial, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to confront witnesses. Additionally, plea bargaining is unethical as it allows criminals to evade accepting responsibility for crimes they have committed.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plea bargaining brings to light the unreciprocated power that the prosecutor has due to the nature of the criminal justice system in America. Plea Deals Demonstrate Prosecutorial Power…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Plea Bargain Advantages

    • 2557 Words
    • 11 Pages

    When a defendant agrees to plead guilty the time spent on what would have been their trial can now be devoted to another defendant. When a defendant takes advantage of a plea deal, they are often granted leniency on their punishment compared to what they might have received if the case went to trial. An advantage for the prosecutor is not gambling the case in court and risk the case being dismissed, or the defendant found not guilty. Another benefit that plea bargains offer is saving the victim from testifying in court. Psychologically, testifying in court could be very traumatizing to the…

    • 2557 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Making it much harder for a guilty plea to be tossed. This also brings into question his or her creditability, changing your statement after some time to think about it may seem odd to some. Changing a plea is easier done by the defendant, if he or she has favorable evidence against the prosecutors case. This evidence may be the lack of creditability the prosecutors main witness, DNA evidence or something that can confirm his or her…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The judge has the power to accept or deny the plea deal, and part of this process is to deny sentences that stray too far from the Sentencing Guidelines. Kosman writes that it is even encouraged for the prosecutor, defendant, and judge to agree to a plea sentence “explicitly calculated according to guidelines” (Kosman 806). Federal district courts that have denied these motions for sentence modifications, and federal circuit appellate courts that have upheld such rulings based on assumptions of the plea sentence and the per se rule have clearly demonstrated the overall trouble plea bargains have caused defendants. While plea bargains have clearly not been the best deal for defendants who are often first-time offenders, such a high rate of cases ending in plea bargains demonstrates the ubiquity and power of the practice in the American criminal system. This facet, combined with the disparity in crack cocaine sentencing has produced even more unjust outcomes for defendants who were offered sentence reductions by the Sentencing Commission, and reflects the harsh reality of plea bargains in the American criminal…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Around 95 percent of cases are plea bargained. Without plea bargaining, the court system would be drowning in cases and the right to a speedy trial under the 6th amendment would be virtually impossible. The court system in the United States is already overloaded with cases waiting to be heard, and the added cases resulting in the elimination of plea bargaining would be catastrophic for the criminal justice system. What plea bargaining does is allow the prosecutor to offer a lesser charge and, in turn, the defendant waives their right to a trial. It allows the court system to move along faster and deal with the offenders who commit more serious, heinous crimes.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abolishing the Plea Bargaining System 97 percent of federal cases and 94 percent of state cases end in plea bargains, with defendants pleading guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence (Goode, 2012). A plea bargain is an arrangement that happens between a prosecutor and the defendant in a criminal case. The prosecutor gives the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty to their charge or a lesser charge in order to avoid trial and the possibility of receiving the maximum sentence. While it would seem that plea bargains are equally beneficial to both prosecutors and defendants, plea bargains are overwhelmingly beneficial to the prosecutor and it is the defendant who ultimately can be harmed by plea bargaining. Plea bargaining should be banned because it bargaining circumvents the Constitutional rights for defendants, leads to shortcuts in the judicial system and can lead to increased convictions of the innocent.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When less severe crimes receive the same or similarly harsh punishments as more serious or felonious crimes it creates an inequality within the courtroom. Removing plea bargaining would show results similar to the case from 1975 in Alaska where the Attorney General forbade prosecutors from plea bargaining with offenders. The results from this occurrence showed that the punishments for violent and felonious crimes did not change, but the punishments for less serious offenses and misdemeanors where dramatically increased (Rubinstein & White, 1978). The inequality created from the removal of plea bargaining would have drastic effects on the criminal justice system where the punishment for less serious crimes would be severely punishable but would have little to no effect on felonies and crimes of a violent nature. In the case from Alaska the primary objective was to hinder plea bargaining for the more serious offenders yet the outcome would eliminate the discretionary decision making of the courts and would lead to first time offenders of smaller crimes receiving unequal punishments for their crimes and reduced probability for parole (Rubinstein & White, 1978).…

    • 1307 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Plea bargaining is one of the most important factors of our criminal justice system. About 95 percent of criminal cases result in a plea deal. What is a plea bargain one may ask? A plea bargain is a type of legal contract between the defendant and the prosecuting attorney of the defendant’s case. It provides a leniency in a sentence or lesser chargers for the defendant if he pleads guilty to his case.…

    • 2052 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The advent of plea bargaining in the legal system in the past century has rendered the classic "trial" virtually obsolete. Plea bargaining1 is a crucial feature of our criminal justice system, as approximately 95% of convictions that occur within a year of arrest are obtained by a guilty plea. For at least a century, the institution of plea bargaining' has been a central feature of the American system of criminal justice. In September 203, the Justice Department again revised its guidelines regarding plea bargains. Lawyers and non-lawyers alike have generally assumed that the reason for this is the enormous size of the case load in relation to the available legal personnel.…

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics