Archive Report
Archive Report
Rising Awareness of Plea Bargaining
The constitution guarantees every American accused of a serious crime the right to a trial by jury, the right to confront witnesses against him, and the right to be proven guilty by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But the vast majority of criminal defendants never have their day in court. It is estimated that 90 per cent of all criminal convictions are based on the defendant's own plea of guilty.1
Many, though not all, of these guilty pleas are the direct result of negotiations known as plea bargaining. The term refers to a pre-arraignment “deal” between the prosecution and the defense in which the defendant is offered a lenient sentence if he agrees to plead guilty, perhaps to a lesser charge, ...