Plea Bargain
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A plea bargain is an agreement between the defense and the prosecutor in which a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to criminal charges. In exchange, the prosecutor changes the charges by reducing the original charge or by recommending that the judge enter a specific sentence that is acceptable to the defense. There are many different opinions on the whole idea of plea-bargaining. Many people think it is a great option to have in our judicial system, while others believe it is not. Some of the questions I will be answering in my paper are: what are the costs and benefits of plea-bargaining, who wins and who loses, and can plea-bargaining be reformed?
There are quite a few benefits for judges and prosecutors to implement the plea bargain. For a judge, the primary incentive for allowing a plea bargain is to move along a crowded calendar. Most judges simply don't have time to try every case that comes through the door. Additionally, since jails are overcrowded judges sometimes face the prospect of having to release convicted people (housed in the same facilities as those awaiting trial) before they complete their sentences. Judges often reason that using plea bargains to quicken the due process of offenders who are not likely to do much jail time leads to fewer overcrowding problems...