Plea Bargaining Pros And Cons

Plea bargaining is a deal offered by the prosecution to the defense, which would be a guilty plea with a lighter sentence. The prosecution, defense, and judges all play a role in a plea bargain. Although it offers several benefits., the plea bargain has faced much criticism from the public. However, the plea bargain has become a significant part of the criminal justice system in the United States, with only 4% of cases actually going to trial because of these deals.

The plea bargain is offered by the prosecutor, who has most of the control over the plea bargain's outcome. The prosecutor presents the deal to the defense and the judge. The judge is the one who encourages a deal, or any other type of agreement before going to trail. Finally, the defense lawyers are the ones who present the deals to their defendant, explaining the deal and advising them if they should take it or not. The defense lawyer must present the deal to the defendant, and cannot hide it or accept it on their behalf without the defendant knowing. This comes from the 6th Amendment right to counsel which protects against ineffective assistance of counsel in the plea bargaining process, as well as a …show more content…
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. Plea bargaining has many benefits which is why it is so common in the United States criminal justice