Assignment: Choices in the Judicial System
STUDENT REPLIES
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STUDENT REPLY #1 Samone Brewer
Hello All,
When it comes to discovering what happened in a crime that was committed, it is difficult to uncover the truth about what happened. This could be offered or should when the offender is guilty but does not want to admit it the crime. It seems that the prosecutors use this to get a plea agreement from a case that is may not go in their favor, It seems as if this strategy may be portrayed as a scare tactic to get the offender to admit to a crime for a case that may not have all the evidence needed. NO i do not believe this tactic is ethical because sometimes people who are innocent get jammed up in a situation that will land them a record for life or possible prison time.
Reference
https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/PleaBargainingResearchSummary.pdf
STUDENT REPLIES
STUDENT REPLIES #2 Beverly Robinson
Plea deals are usually offered to give the defendant a lesser sentence. In my opinion overcharging can coerce a defendant to accept whether it is a misdemeanor or a felony and could be seen as a good or bad strategy.
Prosecutors are supposed to look at someone's age, crime committed and amount of arrests, social status, occupation and take into consideration if they think the defendant will commit another crime or be receptive to reform. If a defendant has been charged with theft and the prosecution decides to make the charge a felony, add robbery, disorderly conduct, and other charges this can coerce a defendant to take a plea deal.
The horizontal strategy is used to skip trial and be able to sentence the defendant by pleading guilty to drop some of the charges against the person to ensure they will still be charged for at least one of the charges they may face the full penalty of. Vertical strategy is for reducing the sentence for harsh punishment if the defendant pleads guilty or no contest.
Not going to trial can be a bad deal if they are innocent but are afraid that the plea deal is the only option they have if their counsel has advised them this is the only way to reduce sentencing. Strategies such as these should be used appropriately for each case and prosecutors and judges should work together to ensure no bias and coercion has taken place.
These strategies can be considered unethical depending on certain cases that defendants may have been railroaded. As a community we have to continue doing research and studying data to make improvements on how overcharging, or horizontal and vertical charging can be improved to ensure the truth has been discovered and justice was served appropriately.
References
Prosecutorial discretion: Charging & plea bargaining. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=honorscollege_cj
U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Assistance. (2011). Plea and charge bargaining. Research summary. Retrieved from https://www.bja.gov/Publications/PleaBargainingResearchSummary.pdf
PROFESSOR REPLY
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REPLY #3 PROFESSOR
You did a nice job answering the questions and supporting your thoughts. What are your thoughts? Are some people more prone to be coerced by this process?