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"State Victim Advocate: Too Many Plea Deals"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this interesting new piece in the Hartford Courant.  Here are excerpts: More than 95 percent of cases in the state's court system over the past four years were resolved without a trial, meaning too many end with plea bargains built on watered-down charges, the state victim advocate said Friday.  People have died as a result, specifically in domestic violence cases, said the advocate, Michelle Cruz. Cruz outlined her concerns in a four-page letter to the state Office of Policy and Management Thursday.  She asked for a study of the number of criminal trials in the state, how long it takes to prosecute them, how many cases are resolved with plea bargains and why.... Although some sentences arise from plea deals for valid reasons, Cruz wrote, "the plea bargain process has been exploited...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on November 20, 2010 (boomark / email).