Plea Bargaining
Plea bargaining in the United States is a controversial issue because the practice of plea bargaining is necessary as long as the United States has high crime rates and insufficient facilities and personnel to try all cases; plea bargaining allows the flexibility necessary if the system is to respond with any degree of concern for the circumstances of individual cases, however, it may also entice defendants to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit rather than risk their constitutional right to trial. In addition, as will be stated later, there are numerous arguments in favor for as well as against plea bargaining. So, what is plea bargaining and how did it originate?
Although there is no definition which has been agreed upon in regard to plea bargaining, Worrall (2010) includes two definitions: 1) a specific definition found in Black’s Law Dictionary, and 2) a more general definition. Black’s Law Dictionary defines plea bargaining as,
“the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only some of the counts of a multicounty indictment in return for a lighter sentence than the possible sentence for the graver charge.”
Plea bargaining has been defined in a more general sense as, “the defendant’s agreement to plead guilty to a criminal charge with the reasonable expectation of receiving some consideration from the state.” Plea bargaining has been around since the early 1800s according to the earliest records found. Commonwealth v. Battis (1 Mass. 95 [1804]) is one of the earliest reported cases involving plea bargaining and following Battis, according to Worrall (2010) “the court expressed concern that some of what could be called plea bargaining was taking place without the approval of the courts” (p. 348) in the case of Edwards v. People, 39 Mich. 760 [1878]. By the second
Although there is no definition which has been agreed upon in regard to plea bargaining, Worrall (2010) includes two definitions: 1) a specific definition found in Black’s Law Dictionary, and 2) a more general definition. Black’s Law Dictionary defines plea bargaining as,
“the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only some of the counts of a multicounty indictment in return for a lighter sentence than the possible sentence for the graver charge.”
Plea bargaining has been defined in a more general sense as, “the defendant’s agreement to plead guilty to a criminal charge with the reasonable expectation of receiving some consideration from the state.” Plea bargaining has been around since the early 1800s according to the earliest records found. Commonwealth v. Battis (1 Mass. 95 [1804]) is one of the earliest reported cases involving plea bargaining and following Battis, according to Worrall (2010) “the court expressed concern that some of what could be called plea bargaining was taking place without the approval of the courts” (p. 348) in the case of Edwards v. People, 39 Mich. 760 [1878]. By the second
Cited: Peak, K. J. (2010). Justice administration: police, courts, and corrections management. (6th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN:978-0-13-515437-3. Reid, S. T. (2008). Criminal Justice. (8th ed.) Mason, OH: Thompson Custom Solutions. ISBN:978-1-426-62635-7. Seiter, R. P. (2011). Corrections: an introduction. (3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NM: Prentice Hall. ISBN:978-0-13-506082-7. Worrall, J. L. (2010). Criminal procedure: from first contact to appeal. (3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN:978-0-13-504319-6.