3 ms·
Here's the thing: Getting rid of pea bargaining will mean every case must go to court. Since the courts are unable to deal with that many cases the prosecutors
by lwat 14y ago
Here's the thing: Getting rid of pea bargaining will mean every case must go to court. Since the courts are unable to deal with that many cases the prosecutors will be MUCH more selective when deciding which cases to take on. Fewer people will get charged and fewer people will go to jail.
- dsl 14y agoYou go to jail once you're charged, not when you are convicted. My hometown is currently running into budgetary problems and has scaled back the court system to funnel more funds to the jail housing everyone awaiting trial.
- rayiner 14y agoThat's not necessarily better. The purpose of plea bargaining is to work the huge mass of petty criminals through the system. The legal presumption of innocence notwithstanding, these people all did the crime, and it's generally a legit crime. Getting rid of plea bargaining means that prosecutors will focus on the big fish, but also means that lower level crimes (shoplifting, pick pocketing, etc) essentially become unenforceable.
- michaelfeathers 14y agoYes, that's an issue, but allowing prosecutors to force any conviction that they want to by escalating charges is too far from just by any standard. It completely sidesteps fairness. Beyond that, one could argue that the federal government should not be addressing petty crime at all.