Plea Bargains Reforms
Introduction
A plea Bargain is defined as the agreement between the Prosecutor of a court with a defendant. The Prosecutor offers a reduction in charges to Defendant if the plead guilty (Bibas,2012). This agreement may see the Prosecutor reduce the number of charges and convict the Defendant with a less severe offense. Plea bargains are essential in many courts as they reduce the workload of the judges as the cases are settled quickly. Many people have mixed feelings about plea bargains. Some people prefer plea bargains as compared to criminal trials. Criminal trials may take long before being settled in court; they also involve a lot of usage of court resources. Should there be reform in the court system with plea bargains?
Plea bargains originate from the town of Salem, in 1692 where witches who were accused of bewitching people. This witch was asked to confess their deeds or face execution. The magistrates of the town wanted to implement confessions so that they would lure more witches into divulging. This incident was among the earliest cases of plea bargains (Bar-Gill et al.,2006). The acts of confession have come a long way and are still being practiced today in most courts in America.
The bargains were very uncommon in early American societies’ he defendants in those times decided to plead guilty in a bid to get the judges to let them go to trial. The bargains were common in Boston as the people who violated the ordinance confessed to getting lenient sentences if they pleaded guilty (Bibas,2012).
They are different types of Bargains, namely: Charge, sentence, and count. Charge bargain means the defendants plead guilty to have their charge may be reduced. Sentence bargain is used when the Defendant agrees to plead guilty to avoid being charged with a death sentence; they may plead guilty to murder. Count bargain is used when the Defendant has a lot of crimes; he/she may plead guilty to reduce the number of delinquencies.
According to recent research by Corey (2007), the defendants who accept to plead guilty are more likely to pay to serve minimal sentences. Criminal trials don’t favor the defendants that choose to proceed with them as the prosecutors seek to have maximum charges being charged on this person. Pleading guilty is said to reduce cases substantially.
The Supreme court of the United States explained that the Plea bargains were crucial and much needed in the judicial system. The court further stated that the Bargains remedy the court from congestion in the courts and saves the defendants from the risks involved in a criminal trial (Mc Coy,2005). was good for courts but bad for the marginalized groups as the system would Ibe used against them.
Juvenile girls, preferably blacks, are not willing to choose the plea bargains because of the systemic oppression, most wish to go the Criminal trials. The women have been discriminated against and victimized by society. This shapes the view of juveniles who may get heavy sentences for being women. The courts are filled with white magistrates as well as prosecutors who are fond of their fellow whites and may end up treating their people better than the Blacks (Stuntz,2004).
Plea Bargains have been witnessed all over many countries more so America. There have been recent calls for a reformation of the Judicial system. This reform has been suggested by Anti-plea Bargain activists who view the Pleas as oppressive to the defendants. The activists claim that the pleas don’t necessarily reduce the costs of justice administration (Ba-Gill et al.,2006).
Prosecutors may take their power to coerce the Defendants into accepting the plea bargains. This mostly happens in cases when the Defendant lacks a lawyer. You may be compelled into the path of taking a plea despite you being innocent. This reform has to take place as people are suffering. Innocent people are seen to go to jail, while those who are real criminals enjoy shorter terms in prison.
Reforms must be made in the Judicial system; this will help in the reduction of the power of the Prosecutors. Most prosecutors use force while negotiating the plea bargains. These deals made between the Defendant and Prosecutor may not be valid, and nothing may be done to these prosecutors as they are not obliged to the owner of the deal. The plea bargains are mostly informal (Corey,2007).
Plea bargains have a lot of controversy with them as the process may enable the prosecution to direct its resources towards significant trials. Most people who get convicted to jail due to plea bargains may end up indulging in criminal activities as the law sounds familiar to them. They commit crimes, knowing they will serve reduced sentences.
The plea bargains depend on the defendants, case, race, age, and criminal record. Most back, people don’t get to be given a chance to have a plea bargain. Some scholars think that the Plea bargain issue is against the constitution owing to its nature of denying the defendants fair trial by a jury. The prosecutors violate people’s rights as they have two choices, either plea bargain or criminal prosecution (Stuntz,2004). If told to choose between the two, people end up picking Plea Bargains.
Most people choose plea bargains because of fear and want to do away with the tedious legal procedures (Bibas,2012). By selecting this, they forget that they have sold elsewhere from their innocence, as they are only guilty if they are found guilty. The fear engulfs them as prosecutors promise to recommend the highest sentence for these people. This may prompt the Defendant to give in to the demands of the prosecutors in a bid to avoid the high penalties.
Reforms have been brought up against the use of plea bargains in courts. Some scholars have identified that possible coercion is present in most plea bargains. This statement is true because of the massive power possessed by the prosecution. They can alter the case, change it, or even dismiss it. They are not equal to the defendants during the bargaining negotiations (Mc Coy,2005).
Conclusion
The plea Bargains initially sounded like a great deal for the judicial system. The introduction of plea bargains saw a decrease in several criminal cases as people negotiated this sentence with the prosecutors. Off late, the good intentions of plea bargains have been surpassed by the detrimental use of the agreements in undermining individual races and genders. There have to be reformed in the judicial system to do away with the plea bargains or make the necessary changes.
References
Bar-Gill, O., & Gazal Ayal, O. (2006). Plea bargains only for the guilty. The Journal of Law and
Economics, 49(1), 353-364.
Bibas, S. (2012). Incompetent plea bargaining and extrajudicial reforms. Harv. L. Rev., 126, 150.
Covey, R. D. (2007). Fixed justice: Reforming plea bargaining with plea-based ceilings. Tul. L.
Rev., 82, 1237.
McCoy, C. (2005). Plea bargaining as coercion: The trial penalty and plea bargaining
reform. Crim. LQ, 50, 67.
Stuntz, W. J. (2004). Plea bargaining and criminal law’s disappearing shadow. Harvard Law
Review, 2548-2569.