...Plea Bargaining Paper Daniel Herrera CJA/224 Introduction to Criminal Courts Dr. Beverly Spencer 9/1/2014 Plea Bargaining Paper Plea bargaining is one of the most important pieces of criminal court proceedings that can occur. Plea bargaining is that chance in which a defendant can choose to not be punished or charged as harshly as they should be. Plea bargaining is a very common thing used within the courthouse and even though it can be good for an individual it can also be bad if not completely understood. The thing with a plea bargain is that at any time a judge can overthrow a bargain and still send the case through strenuous court hours. Plea bargaining is however very important because over ninety percent of all criminal cases are built and completed due to plea bargaining. Plea bargaining can be defined as an agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant whereby the defendant is allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge rather than risk conviction for a graver crime in order to avoid a protracted trial or to win the defendant’s cooperation as a witness (“Plea Bargaining”, 2014). Now a plea bargain can mean everything to nothing towards a case. The prosecution would use these types of bargains for leverage against the defendant. What is meant by this is that the defendant can be offered to give a testimony of the events which can eventually lead into a charge and conviction into a higher profiled case. This is the case most of the time; usually the prosecution...
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...Plea Bargaining Melinda Romayor CJA/224 January 3, 2014 David Manweiler Plea Bargaining Plea bargaining is important in the criminal justice system. It is an essential tool that benefits not only the prosecutor but the defense attorney and the defendant. Plea bargaining allows attorneys to decide cases without needing the judge or a jury to decide the case. It can be beneficial to both the prosecutor and the defense attorney because the prosecutor will have a conviction and the defense attorney would have gained a lesser charge for his client. Throughout this paper I will lead you through the process of plea bargaining, the pros and cons, and how it reflects on crime control and the due process model. History of Plea Bargaining Plea bargaining can be dated back to the nineteenth century. One of the earliest cases reported Commonwealth v. Battis. In this case the defendant who was charged in a capital crime was given time to think about the guilty plea he had entered. The court was reluctant in accepting the plea and was satisfied only after insuring that there had been no tampering, promises, or any persuasions to the defendant. Following the Commonwealth v. Battis case there were other cases that began to be reported that had some level of plea bargaining. It seemed that plea bargaining became more common in the mid 1900’s. The reasoning behind it becoming more common was back in the early days of the English justice system, juries would hear up to 20 cases in a...
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...Plea Bargaining For Company Management By Name Presented to ------------------------ Date Plea Bargaining A plea bargain is a negotiation between the defense attorney and the prosecutor that is presented to the defendant. Plea bargaining is vital in keeping the courts from being overwhelmed with trials. There are two different types of plea bargaining: charge bargaining and sentence bargaining. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the defendant and the prosecution in plea bargaining. Crime control advocates and due process advocates do not see plea bargaining in the same fashion. A guilty verdict doesn’t always result from a trial. It mostly results from a voluntary plea by the defendant. A plea bargain is when a prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty to the original charge or a lesser charge for a lesser than the maximum sentence. For a plea bargain to be negotiated; the prosecutor needs to offer the defendant a reeducation of severity of the charges, reduction of the number of charges or a reduction in sentence. Unless one or more of these items are met, there will not be a plea bargain. A plea bargain is between the prosecutor and the defense attorney. Once the prosecutor presents the offer to the defense; it has to be taken to the defendant for approval. Once the pros and cons are discussed and the defendant agrees and accepts the plea, it is presented to the judge. Plea bargains...
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...Plea Bargaining Glenn Friedlander CJA/224-Introduction to Criminal Court Systems October 22, 1013 Deborah Carr Plea Bargaining Plea Bargaining is a process in which the prosecutor and the defendant via the defense attorney comes to an agreement during a multi-charge case for the defendant to bargain with the prosecutor after being informed by his or her defense attorney of the consequences of one or more charges for a lesser sentence rather than going to trial and possibly receive the max sentence he or she are facing (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). This is normally used when a defendant and his or her defense attorney knows there is no way for the defendant to get off based on the charges he or she is being charged with and the evidence against them. More often than none, the defendant’s attorney is highly aware of the possibility of losing the case based on the results of the investigation that was conducted after the crime was committed. This process is also designed to save tax payers money by avoiding a lengthy trial that was probable based on the crime committed. Charge Bargaining This is a process in which the prosecutor can negotiate with the defendant to make it seem like the prosecutor is on the defendant’s side. This is done by telling him or her they will avoid adding additional charges if the defendant chooses to plea bargain with the prosecutor at that particular time or whichever time the prosecutor provides for the defendant to discuss the...
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...first contact dealing with a plea bargain. The reason I choose to focus on that of plea bargains is because based on the videos I viewed this is the first initial contact the defendant has with the judge and most of the most memorable parts of many criminal court cases. Q: Good afternoon, one thing that stands out to me is why do we have so many plea bargains with in this country? A: Good question, for one our constitution states that everyone should offered that of a speedy trial. With that plea bargains can be looked at as such. Also if we were to send every case in front of jury many cases would never be heard and or pushed so far back that defendants will not receive the proper attention and or defense based on that fact if they had a public defender or private attorney. Q: when it comes to a plea bargain what is role? A: As a judge we oversee and supervise to make sure boundaries are set and it falls it the expectations of the community we are servicing. Also with this with have the right to accept or deny any plea bargain that is brought to us. But once a plea is made either guilty or no contest, it is our responsibility to make sure that the defendant is this decision on his own free will and in sole right mind. Once approved it will no longer go to trial. Q: When entering a plea hearing how much do you really know about case before it is presented to you and knowing more about the case does it make it easier to determine what the appropriate agreement is? ...
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...first contact dealing with a plea bargain. The reason I choose to focus on that of plea bargains is because based on the videos I viewed this is the first initial contact the defendant has with the judge and most of the most memorable parts of many criminal court cases. Q: Good afternoon, one thing that stands out to me is why do we have so many plea bargains with in this country? A: Good question, for one our constitution states that everyone should offered that of a speedy trial. With that plea bargains can be looked at as such. Also if we were to send every case in front of jury many cases would never be heard and or pushed so far back that defendants will not receive the proper attention and or defense based on that fact if they had a public defender or private attorney. Q: when it comes to a plea bargain what is role? A: As a judge we oversee and supervise to make sure boundaries are set and it falls it the expectations of the community we are servicing. Also with this with have the right to accept or deny any plea bargain that is brought to us. But once a plea is made either guilty or no contest, it is our responsibility to make sure that the defendant is this decision on his own free will and in sole right mind. Once approved it will no longer go to trial. Q: When entering a plea hearing how much do you really know about case before it is presented to you and knowing more about the case does it make it easier to determine what the appropriate agreement is? ...
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...Accountability has become Hostage of Plea Bargain. Does Plea Bargaining Undermine the Criminal Justice System? Legal and Social Impacts on Society. Student’s Name Institution Contents 1.1 Background to the Study...............................................................................................4 1.2 Purpose of the Study.....................................................................................................5 1.3 Research Objectives......................................................................................................5 1.4 Research Questions.......................................................................................................6 1.5 Significance of the Study..............................................................................................6 2.0 Methodology/ Research Design.....................................................................................6 2.1 Sampling Design............................................................................................................7 2.2 Sample Size....................................................................................................................7 2.3 Data Collection and Analysis.........................................................................................7 2.4 Validity and Reliability..................................................................................................8 2.5 Skills Required......................
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...Accountability has become Hostage of Plea Bargain. Does Plea Bargaining Undermine the Criminal Justice System? Legal and Social Impacts on Society. Student’s Name Institution Contents 1.1 Background to the Study...............................................................................................4 1.2 Purpose of the Study.....................................................................................................5 1.3 Research Objectives......................................................................................................5 1.4 Research Questions.......................................................................................................6 1.5 Significance of the Study..............................................................................................6 2.0 Methodology/ Research Design.....................................................................................6 2.1 Sampling Design............................................................................................................7 2.2 Sample Size....................................................................................................................7 2.3 Data Collection and Analysis.........................................................................................7 2.4 Validity and Reliability..................................................................................................8 2.5 Skills Required......................
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...The “Insanity” Plea The “Insanity” Plea A criminal defendant who is found to have been legally insane in the course of committing a crime is relieved the criminal responsibility by the virtue of suffering from a mental disease (Findlaw, 2015). In some cases, the accused may be sentenced to a less severe sentence or punishment after being found on the wrong side of the law because of the mental impairment. Many nations allow the insanity defense in their legal systems. However, the accused must prove to the court that they were not on their senses or acted upon uncontrolled impulse or some variety of these factors when doing the wrongful doings. The general sense of insanity plea is to provide the alleged perpetrator of the criminal offense a fair trial. The society is even in agreement with this principle in extreme cases. Nonetheless, the major challenge falls on where to draw the line. That is, the circumstances where one can be considered insane and instances when he or she is not. It is worth noting that, no matter how appealing the crime itself is, it doesn’t demonstrate the level of insanity. Today, the legal systems use way too much of the insanity defenses. While there are many questionable defense tactics, insanity plea targets to protect the rights of the accused and further the course of justice. This paper discusses the insanity plea as used in the legal systems in the present times. What is the main purpose of insanity plea? How did it find...
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...|[pic] |Syllabus | | |College of Criminal Justice SSecurity Security | | |CJS/220 Version 4 | | |The Court System | Copyright © 2011, 2009, 2007 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course is an introduction and overview of the legal system, the participants, the courtroom process, and post-conviction process of the court system. It demonstrates the connections among participants and how they relate to each other. Additionally, the course covers the history of the court system and the different types of court at the state and federal levels. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the...
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...When it comes to crime, we as a country pride ourselves on the fact that we always try to give every person, citizen or noncitizen a fair trial and their due process under the law. Our country was built on these ideals and we try to do everything that we can to preserve that. However, when we give so much discretional power to police and others in the justice system without enforcing the limits, we are asking for trouble. Everyone makes mistakes in their lifetime, it’s just a natural part of being a human and sometimes because of those human errors innocent people fall victim to wrongful accusations and end up in prison over a crime that they didn’t commit. Most officers and prosecutors don’t want to put innocent people in jail and there are relatively few officials out there that abuse their discretional power and spoil everything for us all. I agree with the statement that was made but only to an extent. I argue that discretion is more good than bad and is a necessary evil that we need even though there is a chance that it could be abused by the people that control power. Furthermore, I argue that the theories and laws to limit the discretion officers and prosecutors have are useless because they are usually not enforced strictly enough. One of the reasons that we need police discretion is because of how narrow most laws are when they are created. The nature of our laws prevents them from fitting every situation that comes up which is why we have trials to test a man’s innocence...
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...Capital Punishment Against 1211733 SouJin Park 1215202 EunJeong Lee 1115526 SeoHyun Nam 0711726 JooHa Cha Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Different Aspects on Death Penalty 3 2.1.0 Political Aspect: Wrong Conviction 4 2.1.1 Torture Used to Innocents 4 2.1.2 Amateur Attorney 5 2.2.0 Economical Aspect: High Cost Of Death Row 5 2.2.1 Plea Bargaining 6 2.2.2 Motions 6 2.2.3 Court Time 7 2.2.4 Lawyer 7 2.2.5 Investigators and Expert Testimony 8 2.2.6 Opportunity Cost. 8 2.2.7 Cost-effectiveness. 9 2.3.0 Social Aspect # 2.3.1.0 Deterrent Effect # 2.3.1.1 Ineffectiveness # 2.3.1.2 Counteract as an Incitement # 2.3.1.3 Lack of Viability # 2.3.2 Discrimination # 2.3.2 Overcrowding Problems # 2.4.0 Ethical Aspect # 2.4.1.0 Human Rights # 2.4.1.1 The Universal Declaration # 2.4.1.2 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights # 2.4.2 Rights of Criminal’s Family # 2.4.3 The Pain of Capital Death # 3.0 Alternative Solutions # 3.1 Life Imprisonment # 3.2 Rehabilitation or Reformatories # 3.3.0 Cases of Sex Offenders # 3.3.1 Use of GPS Device # 3.3.2 Revelation of Identities # 3.3.3 Chemical Castration # Appendix # Reference # 1.0 Introduction On September 21, 2011, Alireza Molla-Soltani was hanged to death after stabbing Iran’s most well-known athlete. Alireza was only 17 years-old at the time he was executed. Hassiba Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director, quote...
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...Running Head: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Capital Punishment Kathleen Predmore Abstract Capital Punishment should it be abolished or continue? Over 15,269 Americans have been executed since the beginning of the death penalty in the United Sates, which dates back to colonial times. Some people see it as a barbaric means of punishment while others see it as an important tool for fighting pre-meditated murder and other horrific crimes. The death penalty has bee in existence since the Eighteenth Century B.C. At first, it was carried out by horrific means, boiling, beheading, and burning at the steak just to name a few. Later as man became more civilized, more humane methods were invented and used. It was not until the Nineteenth Century that the death penalty finally found opposition. Since then the civilized world has been at odds on whether to abolish the death penalty. In conclusion, the reasons for abolishing it as well as reasons against abolishing the death penalty are argued; however, the victims of the crimes and their families cannot be ignored. . Over 15,269 Americans have been executed since the beginning of the death penalty in the United Sates, which dates back to colonial times. America remains a minority of nations in the world that still uses the death penalty for punishment of certain crimes. Many see this as a barbaric and against human values. Others see it as a very important means to fighting violent crime and pre-meditated murder...
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...CRIME, PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE IN A COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT This book aims to honour the work of Professor Mirjan Damaška, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School and a prominent authority for many years in the fields of comparative law, procedural law, evidence, international criminal law and Continental legal history. Professor Damaška’s work is renowned for providing new frameworks for understanding different legal traditions. To celebrate the depth and richness of his work and discuss its implications for the future, the editors have brought together an impressive range of leading scholars from different jurisdictions in the fields of comparative and international law, evidence and criminal law and procedure. Using Professor Damaška’s work as a backdrop, the essays make a substantial contribution to the development of comparative law, procedure and evidence. After an introduction by the editors and a tribute by Harold Koh, Dean of Yale Law School, the book is divided into four parts. The first part considers contemporary trends in national criminal procedure, examining cross-fertilisation and the extent to which these trends are resulting in converging practices across national jurisdictions. The second part explores the epistemological environment of rules of evidence and procedure. The third part analyses human rights standards and the phenomenon of hybridisation in transnational and international criminal law. The final part of the book assesses Professor...
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...01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Step 7 A Judge Is Assigned to Hear the Case ❖ 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 N 30 L In the previous two chapters, we learned about the two attorneys in the courtroom drama, the prosecutor and the defense attorney. In this chapter, we turn our attention to the third member of the courtroom work group, the judge. We will learn what judges do and how they become judges. Then, we will look at judges’ discretion and how it affects their relationships with others. INTRODUCTION Judges are by far the most easily recognized member of the courtroom work group, both by their conspicuous robes and by their prominent position in the courtroom. They are also the subject of many stereotypes because the public wants to believe that judges combine patience, wisdom, and compassion to arrive at fair decisions, while they eschew the character flaws that sometimes form the basis of decisions by others, including prejudice, intolerance, favoritism, and hostility. Unfortunately, judges are human and their decisions occasionally reflect such a reality. One West Virginia judge, for example, became so enraged at a defendant who began cursing at him in court that he jumped down from his bench, tore off his judicial robe, and bit the tip off the defendant’s nose (Smith, 1998). He served five days in jail on state assault...
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