As the terms imply, each of these types involves negotiations between the prosecutor and defense concerning the charges, the number of counts and the sentence that will be assessed (Neubauer & Fradella, 2011). Plea bargaining first emerged following the Civil War and became predominant during the early part of the 20th century when the number of criminal defendants flooding the criminal justice system threatened to overwhelm the courts (Dervan & Edkins, 2013)
By the end of Prohibition, fully 90% of all criminal convictions in the United States were the result of plea bargaining (Dervan & Edkins, 2013). During the remainder of the 20th century, prosecutors increasingly threatened defendants with harsher sentences unless they cooperated and opted for a plea bargained disposition, and, as a result, many innocent defendants were coerced into admitting guilt for crimes they did not commit (Leib, 2014)
In reality, though, there is no universally accepted definition for plea bargaining, but even though some prosecutors deny engaging in the practice, Neubauer and Fradella (2011) suggest that they are simply calling the practice something else. Whatever it is called, there are three basic types of plea bargain agreements: (a) charge bargaining, (b) count bargaining and (c) sentence bargaining (Neubauer & Fradella, 2011)
When 95% of the criminal cases in the United States are being disposed of through plea bargaining, though, it is also reasonable to suggest that some bad guys are getting off easier than they should and that American society is paying the price for this efficiency. Certainly, the courts in the United States are crowded and it may not be logistically possible to provide every defendant with a trial, but the harsh realities are that fully 95% of all cases today are plea bargained away, and only about 5% of defendants in the United States are provided with an actual trial (Roberts, 2013)
103). Independent Variables Following the Herzog study, there will be two independent variables utilized here; criminal offense (dimension a) and offense seriousness (dimension B) (Herzog, Sergio, 2003, p
Roberts' book, Public Opinion, Crime and Criminal Justice, reports on a series of surveys that examined public opinion on certain aspect of legal procedure and processes. In 1988, a survey was conducted of public opinion in Canada, and found that four out of five people surveyed disapproved of plea bargaining (Roberts, Julian V, 1997, p
A March article by Nina Totenberg states that "Ninety-five percent of all convictions are the result of plea bargains, not trials," (2012). An article by Christina Langella reveals that "97% of federal convictions and 94% of state convictions were the results of guilty pleas" (Langella, 2012) in March of 2012
Plea bargaining was known to exist in this country since at least 1780, a fact that is corroborated by author George Fisher. Fisher dedicated a significant amount of research to the history of this legal device in the court systems of Middleton, Massachusetts (McCoy, 2003)
The following quotation reinforces this concept with statistical evidence. "Even as early as 1920, it was thought that 88% of convictions in New York were via guilty pleas, up from 22% just over 80 years earlier" (Weil, 2012)
In the absence of plea bargaining the parties would face each other in court as adversaries in front of a referee and their conduct and the trial's proceedings would be strictly controlled according to the law and judicial precedence. In contrast, plea bargaining allows the parties to be more creative when seeking their goals, but without the trappings and constitutional safety nets that a trial provides (Bowers, 2007)
A jury or bench trial, by contrast, tends to compensate for this imbalance in power by acting as a referee between the two adversaries. If plea bargaining rarely occurred there would be little cause for concern, but 97% of all federal convictions in 2009 were the result of a plea deal (Gray, Cooper, and McAloon, 2012)
In light of this argument it seems a bit far-fetched that defendants are enjoying considerable autonomy given the imbalance of power conferred to police and prosecutors by the Supreme Court through the Silver Platter Doctrine. The Human Side of Self-Incrimination Researchers have discovered that innocent people are susceptible to making false confessions, even when faced with long prison terms (Kassin, 2012)
There will be no subjects harmed during the process, which is in line with federal regulations known as the common rule. ("Probability Sampling," 2006) ("Survey Design," 2007) (Ackerman, 1992, pp
Based on these standards, the issue of plea bargaining can be addressed, and there will be options in determining how to solve this dilemma which includes: a full trial or a plea bargain itself. Moreover, the United States criminal justice system has been centered on self-incrimination by the defendant, since this became a part of sentencing decisions (Fisher, 2007, p
He stated that even if criminal defendants have the right to surrender at a trial. It still does not prevent prosecutors from trying to use this tactics on a number of individuals (Lynch, 2003, p
However, they claimed that plea agreements are vital because of the various restraints that are in place. It is also effective in resolving criminal cases within the boundaries of the basic principles of the Constitution (Moss, 2010, p
However, in his article In Defense of Plea Bargaining, Sandefur maintains that plea agreements are still constitutional despite some of the most obvious drawbacks. He further stated that, "Plea bargaining is a process that has a great potential for abuse, but it is neither unconstitutional nor an infringement on the defendant's rights" (Sandefur, 2003, p
In the United States' criminal justice system, plea agreements have been a fundamental factor. Wherein, the federal courts sentence approximately 96% of: criminal perpetrators with guilty plea (Spohn & Hemmens, 2009, p
The process can put forward certain quandaries to defense attorneys. Wherein, they will decide whether this is a good deal for their client or is they should maintain an effective relationship with the prosecutor (Vanover, 1998, pp
The prosecutor at this point or any other time throughout the process may decide to offer a plea bargain. In addition the defense attorney has the ability to go to the prosecutor and offer to have the defendant enter a plea bargain (Carney, 1999)