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Chapter Thirteen: Negotiated Justice and the Plea of Guilty

Chapter Thirteen: Negotiated Justice and the Plea of Guilty. Law on the Books: Types of Pleas. Charge Bargaining Defendant pleads guilty in return for a less serious charge Count Bargaining Defendant pleads to some of the original counts charged and prosecutor dismisses the rest

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Chapter Thirteen: Negotiated Justice and the Plea of Guilty

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  1. Chapter Thirteen: Negotiated Justice and the Plea of Guilty

  2. Law on the Books: Types of Pleas • Charge Bargaining • Defendant pleads guilty in return for a less serious charge • Count Bargaining • Defendant pleads to some of the original counts charged and prosecutor dismisses the rest • Sentence bargaining • Defendant pleads to the original charge in exchange for a promise of leniency in sentencing

  3. Law in Action: Factors Influencing Bargaining and Discretion • Presumption of factual guilt • Most legally innocent defendants are removed in earlier screening processes • Preliminary hearing, Grand jury, Prosecutor’s charging decision • Costs and risks of trial • All members of the courtroom workgroup have a common interest in disposing of cases and avoiding unnecessary trials • What to do with the guilty • Sentencing decisions • Members of the courtroom workgroup seek to individualize justice

  4. Bargaining and the Courtroom Workgroup • Prosecutor • Certainty of conviction • Control the negotiating process • Defendants • Possibility of a lenient sentence • Immediate release

  5. Bargaining and the Courtroom Workgroup • Defense Attorneys • Assesses the offer • Negotiates the terms of the plea bargain • Counsels the defendant • Judges • Pressure attorneys to accept pleas • Attorneys know the “going rate” a judge will accept in a plea bargain for each charge

  6. Dynamics of Bargaining • Decision-making norms • Shared conceptions of how specific types of cases and defendants should be treated • Seriousness of the offense • Defendant’s criminal record • Strength of prosecutor’s case

  7. Dynamics of Bargaining • Why Cases Go To Trial • Parties cannot settle through negotiation • Defense attorneys recommend a trial when risks are low and possible gains are high • Defendants demand a trial • Some types of cases more likely to go to trial • Homicide • Sexual assault • Robbery

  8. Dynamics of Bargaining • Jury Trial Penalty • Difficult to draw conclusions because of tremendous discrepancies among jurisdictions • Three strikes statutes allow prosecutors to threaten very long sentences

  9. Copping a Plea • Questioning the Defendant • Nolo Contendere • Latin phrase meaning “I will not contest it” • Has the same impact as a guilty plea but can not be used in civil proceedings • Boykin v. Alabama (1969) • A “Boykin” form is required to accept a guilty plea ensuring it is voluntary

  10. Copping a Plea • Accepting a Plea • Alford Plea • Alford v. North Carolina (1971) • Defendant “saves face” • Same effect as a guilty plea

  11. Opposition to Plea Bargaining • Due Process Model • Undercuts protections afforded individuals • May lead to conviction of innocent defendants • Produces few tangible benefits for defendants • Crime Control Model • Allows defendants to avoid conviction for crimes they actually committed • Results in lenient sentences • Gives criminal wrongdoers the impression that the courts and the law are easily manipulated

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