Plea Bargaining

Plea Bargaining A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor. This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge or to one of several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence. A plea bargain allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge. For example, in the U.S. legal system, a criminal defendant charged with a felony theft charge, the conviction of which would require imprisonment in state prison, may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge, which may not carry a custodial sentence.
Charge Bargaining and Sentence Bargaining Charge bargaining is a form of plea bargaining. Charge bargaining is when the prosecuting attorney has the capability of negotiating with the accused about the charges that may be filed. This allows for the prosecuting attorney to give the defendant the opportunity to “plead guilty” to lesser charges. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011) An example could be if the accused is pulled over for drinking while intoxicated and has a suspended license; the prosecuting attorney may offer the defendant a plea bargain of pleading guilty to the driving while intoxicated and dismissing the charge of driving with a suspended license. Sentence bargaining is another form of plea bargaining. Sentence bargaining comes in to play when the defendant accepts an agreement to pleading guilty in exchange for spending a less amount of time in jail or prison. (Larry J. Siegel, 2011) An example of a sentence bargain could be if an individual is being charged of murder and they have the death penalty in that particular state; the defendant can plead guilty to the charges in return they receive a sentence of life in prison instead of receiving the death penalty.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining An advantage for the defense attorney would be that there is less work involved and they still generally will receive around the same amount of money. The main advantage for the prosecuting attorney is they are guaranteed a conviction and can modify the sentencing however they choose. The judicial system relies on plea bargaining in order to keep the criminal justice system going. When there is a case that uses a plea bargain the judge is capable of getting through a case promptly in order to move on to the next case. When it comes to the jail system and the prisons a plea bargain will limit the total amount of inmates that enter into the jails and prisons reducing their time in such facilities or might even suspend jail time and giving probation as part of the plea bargain. There are also disadvantages when it comes to plea bargaining. A disadvantage of a plea bargain would be although the prosecuting attorney and the judge have an agreement, the final decision of the terms of the plea bargain has to go through the court system. The case will go as planned if the courts do not approve the plea bargain. There is a major disadvantage when it comes to the defendant, as soon as the defendant signs the plea bargain agreement and then pleads guilty in the courtroom in front of the judge he or she will no longer be able to file for an appeal.

Due Process Due process in the criminal justice system, a plea bargain will most likely work in the favor of the criminal justice system. A plea bargain can allow for the defendant to get out of a more severe criminal charge by pleading to a charge of a lesser degree. In order to ensure that due process is respected for an individual’s legal procedures generally make it more difficult to arrest, prosecute or sentence an alleged criminal, in order to make sure the defendant’s rights are fully protected. With that being said plea bargaining can help to ensure that an alleged criminal is convicted. Crime control is an effective way to ensure the safety for the communities. Standardized procedures allows for efficient processing of as many crimes and criminals as possible. Minimal infringement of rights is acceptable for crime control.