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Local examination of the realities of plea bargaining

By Douglas A. Berman

A local paper from Maryland this morning has these two pieces talking about the dynamic realities of plea bargaining: Let's make a deal: The science and art of plea bargains State guidelines help fashion plea agreements Here is a portion of the first of these articles: Because of the volume of jury trial requests alone, plea negotiations are a necessity of the criminal justice system nationwide, local prosecutors and defense attorneys agree. The situation is in no way unique to Frederick County. Former State's Attorney Scott L. Rolle, now a defense lawyer trying cases against some of the prosecutors he hired, calls plea agreements "a necessary evil." Frederick County processes more than 10,000 criminal and criminal-related cases each year, including probation violation and child support cases...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 28, 2009 (boomark / email).