Plea bargains have pushed jury trials into a small corner of the criminal process
Evidence
Why do defendants give up and call themselves guilty? Sometimes, no doubt, they do so out of shame, hopelessness, or remorse. But mostly the guilty plea is part of a “deal”—​part of the practice called “plea bargaining” or “copping a plea.” The prosecutor agrees to press for a lighter sentence, or to drop some charges, or to give the defendant a break in some other way; this is in exchange for a guilty plea, which avoids trial by jury. Plea bargaining has pushed the jury trial into a small corner of the criminal process. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 845
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Guilty pleas, not trials, now dominate criminal case disposition; Guilty pleas dominate criminal case disposition overwhelmingly — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 547; Prosecutors, not judges, dominate U.S. criminal outcomes via plea bargaining
Broader Connections
- Guilty pleas dominate criminal case disposition overwhelmingly
#corroborates(0.95) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 547 - Guilty pleas, not trials, now dominate criminal case disposition
#corroborates(0.90) - Prosecutors, not judges, dominate U.S. criminal outcomes via plea bargaining
#expands(0.85)