Should there be plea bargaining in the criminal justice system?

The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that plea bargaining would not exist in the ideal world. Nevertheless, it weakens deterrence and respect for the law and tends to extort guilty pleas, while working to the advantage of prosecutors, defendants, and defense lawyers who want to avoid trials.

What is plea bargaining and what is its purpose?

plea bargaining, in law, the practice of negotiating an agreement between the prosecution and the defense whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or (in the case of multiple offenses) to one or more of the offenses charged in exchange for more lenient sentencing, recommendations, a specific sentence, or …

What are pros cons of plea bargains?

A successfully negotiated plea bargain will:

• Clear up the uncertainty in your case.
• Avoid publicity.
• Possibly result in fewer (or less serious) offenses on your record.
• Lessen the judge and prosecutor’s case load.
• Result in a less socially offensive charge on your record.
• Possibly get you out of jail.

What are the advantages of plea bargaining?

For defendants, the most significant benefit to plea bargaining is to take away the uncertainty of a criminal trial and avoid the maximum sentence that a conviction at trial could mean. Accepting a plea bargain could also save you a lot of money on attorney’s fees if there is a strong likelihood of a conviction anyway.

What are the benefits of plea bargaining?

Which ethical theory do you believe best supports plea bargaining?

This ethical issue is best analyzed using two variants of the philosophical theory of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism holds that the correct answer to a problem is the one that maximizes “utility.” the amount of punishment to which a defendant must submit in order to convince a prosecutor to enter a plea agreement.