by Sonora Webster

Created on: October 05, 2009   Last Updated: October 11, 2009

When plea bargains are offered to the defendant by defense attorneys and prosecutors, the maximum sentence can be significantly reduced. Even though some believe plea bargains are for the poor and naive, they benefit the court system and the defendant by avoiding lengthy trials for an already severely strained system and provide a compromise between all parties.

Another significant concern is, if plea bargains are offered, are the sentences losing the deterrence effect? This paper will address plea bargaining from the justice systems point of view, address the rights of the defendants, and tackle some of the criticism plea bargaining receives.

"Nearly 95 percent of all cases resulting in felony convictions never reach a jury. Instead, they are settled through plea bargains in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchanged for a reduced sentence" (Bikel, 2004). A plea bargain does not excuse the offender of his or her crime, but rather offers an opportunity for compromise. In civil cases, coming to a compromise would be considered a settlement; however, in a criminal case, a compromise between both parties is considered a plea bargain.

Instead of extending an already over-extended criminal process, plea bargaining offers the defendant a pass on attending numerous court hearings. When the plea bargain is accepted, in exchange, the court system can potentially offer a lesser sentence for their cooperation.

The Criminal Justice System views plea bargaining as a way of controlling case volumes and dockets. Under ideal circumstances, every case would go to trial, but this ideal is extremely unrealistic. The justice system is already strained and without plea bargaining, justice would rarely ever be served because of the ineffective timeliness in which a case is received.

Many cases are already procrastinated and delayed, which causes evidence to expire or for parties to lose witnesses. However, plea bargaining decreases excessive case loads and pushes offenders through the system more quickly, while still serving justice.

Michael Tonry, specialist in criminal law and author of Sentencing Matters: Studies in Crime and Public Policy, explains that approximately 75% of criminal cases end in guilty pleas and those who enter into plea agreements typically receive a 20% reduction from their initial sentence (Tonry, 1998). The main benefit for the justice system is that plea bargaining saves time and money.

If all cases were filed in court, the system simply would

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