Plea Bargaining In Criminal Justice

Words: 1012

Pages: 5

Open Document

Plea Bargaining is considered to be a controversial topic in the criminal justice system as “it is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor, in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest (nolo contendere) in exchange for an agreement by the prosecutor to drop one or more charges, reduce a charge to a less serious offense, or recommend to the judge a specific sentence acceptable to the defense” (Berman). In my opinion, I do believe plea bargaining to be an necessary evil in our criminal justice system because without it, our courts would be overwhelmed with cases and our jails that are already filled with prisoners would be overloaded with even more prisoners. Despite these problems that would happen to the criminal justice …show more content…
In the article called The Case of the Jena Six: Black High School Students Charged with Attempted Murder for Schoolyard Fight After Nooses Are Hung from Tree by Amy Goodman, the six black kids “face up to 100 years in prison without parole” (Goodman). In another article called Jena Six case wrapped up with plea bargains written by NBC News, it was stated that thanks to plea bargaining, their charges of attempted murder and conspiracy was reduced to “misdemeanor simple battery”. Their punishment for beating up the white student is “seven days unsupervised probation and fined $500.”(News). Even though the Jena Six were children and received a very light sentence for brutally beating up a white student at their school, it does not excuse the fact that they should receive such a light sentence for a brutal crime but should at least have a mandatory sentence, so those six kids can at least receive some punishment for their

Plea Bargaining In The Criminal Justice System

Plea bargaining is a relief for the criminal justice system. If it did not exist the criminal justice system would become bogged down with defendants waiting for months and years to go to trial, not allowing individuals their Constitutional right to a speedy trial. Without plea bargaining, the courts, prosecutors, public defenders, and judges would no longer be able to handle their cases by taking them to trial because their time and resources would be limited. There are various reasons of the…

Words 340 - Pages 2

What Is The Role Of Plea Bargaining In Criminal Justice

In my opinion plea bargaining is a plays a major part in our criminal justice system. It is a common practice for criminals to take a plea. Taking a plea bargain actually allows the criminal to plea guilty to their cases, so that will not have to prolong they sentencing. Most criminal take the plea bargain to avoid going to trail and receiving the maximum sentencing (Bohm & Haley, 2011). I understand that there maybe reasonable cause as to why we use the plea bargaining system. Nonetheless, I feel…

Words 137 - Pages 1

Arguments Against Plea Bargaining

are considering a bill that bans all plea-bargaining in our state. As a leading expert on plea-bargaining, I’m aware of the instrumental role that it plays in our justice system. From the outset, I would like to state my definitive position on the matter: that plea bargaining should not be banned. My following testimony will support this position. The Stakeholders and How a Plea-Bargaining Ban Will Affect Them The stakeholders who benefit from plea-bargaining include judges, prosecutors, defense…

Words 477 - Pages 2

Plea Bargaining

Plea Bargaining CJA/224 March 14, 2013 Plea Bargaining We have all gone to the super market and used their express checkout lane in the hopes of getting in and out in a hurry. But something most of the general public is unaware of is that the American Criminal Court System has its own version of the express check-out lane. Plea Bargaining is the criminal courts systems version of an express check-out, and ninety five percent of the people who are channeled through the criminal…

Words 1385 - Pages 6

Plea Bargaining Argumentative Analysis

How do we reconcile the benefits of plea bargaining with the importance of justice? Plea bargaining occupies a relatively ambiguous position in the criminal justice system. Most observers of the system subscribe to its practical benefits, but acknowledge that it is an imperfect method for dispensing justice. The academic literature has consisted largely of attempts to provide a theoretical justification for plea bargaining and conversely of calls for the system's abolition. It focuses on the ethical…

Words 213 - Pages 1

Plea Negotiation Argumentative Analysis

The answer to this question is simple: When the situation entails plea negotiation, justice is removed and replaced with efficiency, expediency and an overall compromise. As with compromises in any given relationship, there are advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining for all parties involved (the state, the court, and the accused). In essence, plea negotiation necessitates an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant whereby the defendant must plead guilty to a charge or charges…

Words 402 - Pages 2

Why Is Plea Bargaining Effective

Plea bargaining is where the prosecutors and defendants come to an agreement where the defendant can agree to saying he or she is guilty to all or some of the charges opposed to them or when the judge lessens the defendants sentence. Its purpose is to lessen the time in court and reduce the charges and sentence against the defendant. Reducing trial time is to help avoid multiple irritating inconveniences for the defendant. These inconveniences are the defendant’s exposure and charge. With reducing…

Words 279 - Pages 2

Persuasive Essay On Plea Bargaining

Plea bargaining is a practice in which defendants are offered a deal from the prosecutor to plead guilty to a certain charge or charges in exchange for a more lineate sentence. Furthermore, as a result of agreeing to a plea deal, defendants waive their rights to a trial and their right against self-incrimination. The Bill of Rights was created as a way to safeguard defendants and create an adversarial justice system. During trials, the State is supposed to make its case and defendants should not…

Words 418 - Pages 2

Plea bargaining pros and cons Essay

Plea Bargaining Over 90% of criminal convictions come from negotiated pleas and this is the result of simply having better defense attorneys nowadays. The way plea bargaining works is the defendant pleads guilty, however he or she ends up getting a lesser sentence, fewer counts, reduced charges, etc. depending on the type of negotiation they make. Once they plead guilty, they must then allocate, which means they must describe how and why they committed their crime. Although it sounds like a good…

Words 472 - Pages 2

Criminal Justice Assignment

(Producer). (2018, January 02). Principles of criminal justice. [Unit 1, Outline #1]. Podcast retrieved from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net/cps/default.aspx?SectionID=6579&tabid=155#1 Gilchrist, G. M. (2016). Trial Bargaining. Iowa Law Review, 101(2), 609-656. Everyone has the desire to co-exist among others behaving pleasantly. People do not always behave accordingly. The criminal justice system reacts to behaviors once the behavior is considered criminal (Bohm, 2018). For instance, cursing…

Words 641 - Pages 3