The constitution is the basis of all criminal law as well as trials and their verdicts. The constitution and the state and federal court systems have been in effect since the nineteenth century. Each and every court case has their own unique processes related to the different courts and how the case made it to any specific one, taking a plea bargain as an alternative to facing trial and what happens to the wrongfully accused will help understand a little more about the ins and outs of trials and verdicts.…
To the accused, the word plea bargain means a freedom of choice. To the prosecutor, it means a lesser workload. To the Judge, it means saving his time and the courts time, and to the state, a plea bargain means saving money. In my perception, the word plea bargain means a failure of the American trial system. The Constitution grants us, the citizens of this country, a right to speedy trial by jury of our peers. Where exactly do you see that right, which is rightfully ours, in plea bargains? How can our trial and court system not bestow the punishment that fits the crime? When we give the accused freedom of choice, isn’t that an oxymoron?…
A plea bargain falls under the discretionary powers of the prosecution, meaning the public is able to trust that the parties involved in the process have upheld the same judicial principles that would apply to a conviction reached after trial.…
A Plea is a formal statement by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner saying weather they are guilt or innocence.…
Entertainment has always consisted of law related movies. Legal movies are successful because of public interest in different types of legal cases and scenarios. An example of a successful legal movie is Presumed Innocent.…
There are two types of plea bargains : The first one is a charge bargain. When the prosecutor allows a defendant to "plead guilty to a lesser charge", or to only some of the charges that have been filed against him. For example, a defendant charged with burglary may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to "attempted burglary". A defendant charged with Drunk Driving and Driving with License Suspended may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to just the drunk driving charge. The second plea bargain is when a defendant is told in advance what his sentence will be if he pleads guilty. This can help a prosecutor obtain a conviction if, for example, a defendant is facing serious charges and is afraid of being hit with the "maximum" sentence. Typically, sentence bargains can only be granted if they are approved by the trial judge. Many jurisdictions severely limit sentence bargaining.…
Falsely confessing to a guilty plea is another way in which wrongful convictions may be mete out. However, if a person is truly innocent, what would be so strong so as to compel them to plead guilty? One logical answer is that when the potential to be convicted of a crime exists and carries a mandatory sentence with it, it may be better to plead to a lesser crime, which may carry a lower sentence and allow for a conditional sentence. Stat on number of wrongful convictions. Even a single wrongful conviction is a travesty and injustice to the…
WECT Staff. (2012). Guilty: Plea deal reached for men involved in riot before hankins’ death. Retrieved from http://www.wect.com/story/18780887/plea-deal-reached-for-man-involved-in-riot-before-marcus-hankins-death…
In a Frontline Program- The Plea we watched in class there were interviews of people involved in three separate cases that had involved the plea bargain. In this video a man named Charles Gampero had gotten into a fight outside of a bowling alley and walked away leaving the victim unharmed and alive. After he had left the victim had been killed, but Gampero had been charged with second degree murder and attempt to kill. The prosecutors had told Gampero that they would give him a plea of dropping the charges to manslaughter, giving him 7-21 years and that if he didn’t he would get a mandatory 25 to life. Gampero said because he was positive that he was not at fault and had left the victim unharmed he had wanted to take it to trial. In the end Gampero wound up taking the plea and not taking it to trial because the judge had scared him so much by telling him that he would get no less than 25 years if he took it to trial. If Gampero had went to trial he would have had the chance of getting less time than his 7-21 years. The judges are allowed to lie to you like they had to Gampero about getting 25 to life. Another example from this video was Patsy Kelly Jarrett. Jarrett was charged for the murder of a gas station tenant years after the murder. Jarrett was home during the time of the murder and the only evidence was someone saying that it was her. The prosecutors had given her a plea bargain of taking robbery and getting five years and later…
When you are innocent, you get compassion and such examples of this happen in life. If a child does something wrong, they get compassion because they are innocent, but if an adult does the same thing they do not get compassion because they are no longer innocent. For example, In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon, Christopher Boone has a mental disability and lives a tougher book than any other normal human. Sometimes he does things such as scream and hit which if he were a normal person his age, he would be punished. Since he has a mental disability, he is innocent and needs compassion. Therefore, if you still have your innocence, you are treated with compassion if you did something wrong.…
You're expected to enter a plea during your arraignment. Even if you know for sure you were intoxicated, it probably isn't a good idea to plead guilty right away. If you plead not guilty, you can always change your plea at a later time. Pleading not guilty buys time for your attorney to examine the facts of your case and build a strong defense. If you have an attorney at your side during the arraignment, he or she can offer advice over what you should plead and whether you should request a jury trial. An attorney can also shield you from pressure to make a quick plea that could harm you later. However, since an arraignment usually happens quickly after your arrest, you might not have time to hire an attorney. In that case, you're allowed to represent yourself. In most instances, it's probably best to enter a plea of not guilty when you haven't had time to speak to an attorney first.…
An individual is accuse for committing a crime and goes to jail. The court is going to offer a Plea bargain in which the defendant will declare guilty and the sentence will be reduce. This settlement will obligate the defendant to follow certain conditions and rules. Now, who benefits from it? According to the film The Plea, society will. Plea bargains are the best asset for the court system to keep the system flowing. The less people in jail, the less money the government has to spend. The less time with a case the less money being spent. The defendant, in other hands, may benefit or not. The film clearly shows how people’s life can be affected after pleading guilty. First, they will not have the right to have 12 people hear what really happened. Many innocent people are offered plea bargains for crimes they did not commit. The benefits from pleading guilty is that a sentence may be reduce or even revoke. The benefits to society overweigh the cost of the individuals when he/she is guilty of a crime, but it doesn’t when an individual has to declare guilty for a crime they did not commit.…
Many innocent people that appear guilty to a crime have been imprisoned because they chose to accept the plea bargain being offered to them instead of risking their chances at a trial. It is unknown the amount of defendants that have chosen this option and have spent time in prison for crimes they never even committed.…
Criminal courts are a process. Most assume that all the action takes place when the trial starts, but this is not true for all proceedings. Most offenders will enter a guilty plea to comply with a prosecutors “deal” offered to the offender.…
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case where a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to end the case against the defendant before it goes to a judge or jury trial. The defendant agrees to plead guilty to a more minor offense than charged or to a smaller number of offenses than charged in exhange for a more leniant sentence or fine. Since the early 19th century, plea bargaining has played an essential part of the American criminal justice system. Research has shown that more than 90% of all felony criminal cases in urban areas of the United States are settled by plea bargain rather than by a jury trial. ("Plea Bargains: Why and When They're Made." 2002. FindLaw. 10 Mar 2004. http://criminal.findlaw.com/articles/1489.html>).…