The Use Of Plea Bargaining Law Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2039 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Critical essay Did you like this example? Plea bargaining is a commonly used prosecutorial method to dispose of a case without going to trial. A plea bargain or negotiated plea is an agreement between the defense and the prosecutor in which a defendant pleads guilty to a criminal charge and in exchange he expects to receive some form of consideration from the state. (Neubauer, 2002, p. 323) Most cases never make it to trial, more than 80 percent of criminal cases filed ended with the defendant entering a guilty plea. (Fagin, 2003, p. 61) Plea bargaining became common sometime after the Civil War. The proliferation of cases, in the federal courts, brought on by prohibition was instrumental in the institutionalization of plea bargaining. (Neubauer, 2002, p. 323) It was not until the sixties that plea bargaining became a topic of controversy. This controversy seems to stem from the fact that the name suggests that the courts are bargaining with criminals. But much of what is characterized as plea bargaini ng often involves the assessment and reassessment of facts. (Nasheri, 1998, p. 24) After examining all the facts the conclusion might be that there is just not enough evidence to win at trial. The police and victims are the most likely to object to the negotiated plea because they feel the defendant is not being punished severely enough. The police work hard to collect evidence and securing witnesses to help with the conviction and would like to see the offender prosecuted on the more serious charges. The victim, on the other hand, wants the same thing but for a somewhat different reason, which would be for revenge or retribution or just the satisfaction that justice has prevailed. (Fagin, 2003, p. 309) In spite of the reasons against plea bargaining, it is still being used. Why is that? There are several reasons why a prosecutor, judge and defendant would want to negotiate a plea agreement. For a judge his incentive would be to move along a crowded calendar. Another issue is the fact that jails are overcrowded and they do not want to be faced with the idea of releasing convicted people before their sentence is completed in order to accommodate the recently convicted one. Judges see plea bargaining as a way to process out the less serious offenders. For the defendant, the benefits include a more lenient sentence. If the defendant is denied or cannot afford bail they could be released immediately if a judge accepts the plea. Also, taking a case to trial usually means they would have to wait and that can be stressful, so one would want to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. Another plus is they would have a lesser charge on their record as opposed to a more serious one and since most employers would not hire you with a felony conviction, it would definitely be beneficial to plea to a misdemeanor. As to the prosecutors, they do not have the resources available to them to take every good case to trial. So they then turn to plea bargaining as a w ay to deliver justice efficiently. (p. 61) The prosecutors office has the responsibility of trial preparation and also has to shoulder the costs that are associated with obtaining evidence and interviewing witnesses among other pretrial preparations. (p. 309) Therefore, the prosecutor will then select which case to take to trial and which to plead out. This is based on whether he thinks he has sufficient evidence to prove every element of the charge. Also, he might not have complete confidence in the witnesses testimony or there is a chance the victim might refuse to cooperate at the last minute. Prosecutors also use plea bargaining to reward a cooperating defendant. (Neubauer, 2002, p. 330) A plea negotiation can be initiated by the prosecutor or the defense attorney. And the process can start anywhere after arraignment and will continue up until the jury comes back with a verdict. The center of the bargaining can be the charges, the counts or the sentence. In charge bargaining, the prosecutor allows the defendant to plead guilty to a less serious charge than the one filed. (p. 325) For example, you can plea to robbery instead of the armed robbery that was originally charged. Also some charges are socially offensive and if convicted you would be stigmatized and would be at great risk in prison. For example, a molestation or rape charge might be reduced to an assault charge, which would look better on your record and carries less time. And you would not be labeled as a rapist or child molester. With count bargaining the defendant will plead to some of the counts listed in the charge. The prosecutor would dismiss the remaining counts. (p. 326) Count bargaining is often used when the defendant has engaged in essentially a single criminal act but the law specifies several separate and often technical criminal violations. (p. 326) A reduction in the number of counts would result in a reduction in sentence, since someone charged with multiple counts can recei ve the maximum sentence. In sentence bargaining the offender is seeking leniency and the sentence can be anything from probation to life in prison, depending on the severity of the offense. Since the judge is the one who hands out sentences he has to then be included in this negotiation process. (Fagin, 2003, p. 312) The judges involvement in a plea negotiation raises a serious question as to the role of the judge in the adjudication process. (p. 312) The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure has stated that negotiated pleas should be done without the courts participation. (p. 312) But in some instances the judge will be included in the process. -Not all pleas are accepted, the plea must have three characteristics in order to be a valid plea. 1. It must be voluntary, meaning the defendant was not coerced by the prosecutor or anyone else to enter that plea. 2. It must be intelligent meaning the defendant understands the consequences of pleading guilty. 3. It must be know ing, meaning the defendant has to be aware of all his options. The only way to know if a plea is voluntary, intelligent and knowing is that the judge has to ask all the pertinent questions in court so it can be on the record. The United States Supreme Court also set up guidelines for the prosecutor to abide by because they realize that the plea bargaining process does have room for abuse by the prosecutor. The following are the guidelines set up to avoid prosecutorial vindictiveness. He cannot charge or threaten to charge for offences where there is insufficient evidence. He cannot charge or threaten to charge for crimes not ordinarily charged. He cannot threaten a sentence more severe than normal for similar crimes. * He cannot fail to grant full disclosure of exculpatory evidence. With all the different components involved in plea bargaining there is a definite probability of some form of complication. What if the defendant did not understand fully the impl ications of a guilty plea? What if the prosecutor and/or defendant break their part of the agreement? These questions and more have been brought to the forefront in several landmark cases over the years where the outcome has helped to solidify exactly what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. The issue regarding the characteristics of what a guilty plea should consist of was brought up in the case of Boykin v. Alabama (1969). Boykin entered a guilty plea without the benefit of competent counsel and the judge did not question him to find out if the plea was voluntary, knowing or intelligent. The decision of the Supreme Court was that the entry of a guilty plea has to be knowledgeable and these facts must be reflected on the court transcripts. (Nasheri, 1998, p. 19) This decision was reversed. In North Carolina v. Alford (1970), Alford plead guilty but claimed to be innocent and stated he was doing so because he was afraid of the death penalty. The Supreme Court ruled that it was permissible for a trial court to accept a guilty plea, even though the defendant maintained his innocence, provided that there was some evidence of his guilt, and provided that there was no indication that he had been coerced. (p. 14) The court affirmed this decision. In Santobello v. New York (1971), the prosecutor did not honor the promise in the agreement where he was to make no sentencing recommendation. The Supreme Court held that whether the recommendation had actually influenced the sentence was immaterial. (p. 23) The fact is that there was a promise made to the defendant that no recommendation would be made and that promise was broken. The court states that the promises made in a plea agreement must be fulfilled. This case was remanded back to the lower court for review. Is there ever an instance where a prosecutor can be relieved from fulfilling a plea bargaining agreement? The courts stated if a defendant conceals relevant facts such as a prior felony convict ionor fails to perform an act that was required as part of the agreement (Acker Brody, 1999, p. 610), the prosecutor can then break said agreement. If a defendant enters a plea but commits an offense before sentencing or performs an act that was forbidden by the agreement the prosecutor can definitely not honor his promise. In Rickett v. Adamson (1987), Adamson plead guilty to second degree murder, instead of first degree murder, which was a capital offense. The agreement was contingent upon him giving testimony against his co-defendants. He refused to testify and the prosecutor reinstated his original charge of first degree murder. The Supreme Court agreed that Adamson did breach the plea agreement and that the state was correct in revoking it. Adamsons death sentence was later vacated on other grounds. (p. 610) There are a few criticisms against this process. Some people believe that the court is being too lenient because plea bargaining allows for a lower sentence than if the case had went to trial, yet these lower sentences spring not from institutionalized leniency but from legal standards (Mc Coy, 1993, p. XIV). The reason why a negotiated sentence is less is because there are factors involved in the case that demonstrates that the defendant does not deserve the maximum sentence. During the negotiating process these factors are discussed thoroughly and if the case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a plea agreement would then be offered. Another criticism is that plea bargaining is a departure from due process, because when someone decides to plea guilty they are relinquishing their 5th amendment rights against self-incrimination and 6th amendment right to confront their accuser and their right to a trial by a jury. In most cases he is also giving up the right to appeal except in those circumstances where some type of prosecutorial vindictiveness was involved. Another concern is the fact that the victims are being ignored because of the fact they do not have their day in court to be heard. But the proponents for plea bargaining can retort by saying that the process is being sympathetic to the victim where they would not have to relive the experience by giving their testimony in court. (p. XIV) Also some witnesses might not wish to give testimony in court. There has been some attempts made to try to eliminate or reduce the cases disposed of by plea bargaining. For instance, Californias proposition 8, the Victims Bill of Rights, was passed in 1982. It misled votes into thinking that it was in support of a ban on plea bargaining. (p. XVII) What it in fact did was speed up the time for the guilty plea to be approved by the courts, which means the cases would not be scrutinized as closely as before. (p. XVII) Therefore it would be done poorly to comply with the time restraints. In sum, I believe plea bargaining plays an important role in the criminal justice system because it keeps the costs of justice afford able. Without it a prosecutor will stand the risk of losing the substantial time and resources he invested in a case, only to have the defendant be found not guilty by a jury and escape punishment altogether. It does have its disadvantages but overall I believe it should be continued because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by far. Works Cited: Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Use Of Plea Bargaining Law Essay" essay for you Create order

Animal Farm By Vladimir Lenin - 1486 Words

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“A by John Updike Essay Sample free essay sample

In John Updike’s short narrative. â€Å"A A ; P. † Sammy. the storyteller. tickers three misss one afternoon while he works as a teller in an â€Å"A A ; P† food market shop. The misss are attractive in their Bikini. but clearly they do non affect the shop director. Lengel. who publicly embarrasses them. taking Sammy to discontinue his occupation. In the terminal. no 1 notices his heroic protest. and he starts to worry whether his hereafter will be suffering. I do non believe so ; I believe he makes the right determination. vacating non merely to affect the misss. but besides to arise against the policy-based positions in society. Although he fails to obtain regard from the misss. his determination. his first measure in transforming his unsatisfactory life. may assist him recognize who he is and who he wants to be. Sammy wants to alter his life before he meets the misss ; their reaching seems to trip him to recognize more to the full his dissatisfaction. They demonstrate traits he admires. Their arresting visual aspect triggers his grasp of beauty ; their attention-grabbing ability triggers his desire to be typical ; possibly Queenie’s leading triggers his desire to be himself. As she walks in with â€Å"a sort of dainty face† ( Updike 1493 ) . he explains. â€Å"Walking into the A A ; P†¦I suppose it’s the lone sort of face you can have† ( 1493 ) . While he’s busy watching her wander about. he expounds how â€Å"the store’s reasonably empty. it being Thursday afternoon. so there was nil much to do† ( 1494 ) . He notices she’s different from her two friends. even from her stairss. â€Å"Not this queen† ( 1493 ) . he says several times in his observations. stressing her singularity. When he sees his queen embarrassed by Lengel. he feels he has to stand up and be the â€Å"unsuspected hero† ( 1496 ) . coercing him to do the right determination for himself. Alt hough she does non detect his surrender. he does something with free will. Influenced by the misss. he explains how much he disdains his working environment. including his colleagues and the clients. The A A ; P is located in the â€Å"north of Boston and there’s people in this town haven’t seen the ocean for 20 years† ( 1494 ) . he says reenforcing how uneven it is that three misss come in have oning merely bathing suits. Sammy has a mocking tone to depict his colleague. Stokesie. When Stokesie expresses his grasp for the misss. Sammy explains that â€Å"Stokesie’s married. with two babes chalked up on his fuselage already† ( 1494 ) . He â€Å"thinks he’s traveling to be director some cheery twenty-four hours. possibly in 1990 when it’s called the Great Alexandrov and Petrooshki Tea Company or something† ( 1494 ) . Clearly. Sammy does non expect a hereafter like Stokesie’s. Additionally. he does non esteem the shop director. Lengel. naming him â€Å"pretty dreary. [ and he ] Teachs Sunday school† ( 1495 ) . He â€Å"hides all day† ( 1495 ) in his office â€Å"marked MANAGER† ( 1495 ) . Sammy does non give much regard to the clients either. connoting that they are animate beings: â€Å"†¦I got [ a client ] plumes smoothed† ( 1492 ) and â€Å" [ they are ] like frightened hogs in a chute† ( 1496 ) . Subsequently. he equates the clients with â€Å"sheep† ( 1493 ) . kicking ho w the fifty-year-old â€Å"witch† ( 1492 ) â€Å"starts giving [ him ] hell† ( 1492 ) when he accidently rings an point twice. Though it may seems these ideas come after Sammy sees the misss. the resentful tone reveals how he already dislikes his occupation before he meets the misss. Discontinuing has been rooted in his head for a long clip. Though Sammy â€Å"fe [ ELs ] †¦the universe [ is ] traveling to be [ difficult ] to [ him ] hereafter† ( 1497 ) . his hereafter is now in his ain custodies. Like most immature work forces. Sammy seeks felicity. freedom. an exciting life. If he spends his life behind a registry detecting others. he might neer fulfill his desires. When Queenie explains that she is merely acquiring â€Å"a jar of herring snacks† ( 1495 ) for her female parent. Sammy â€Å"slid [ Es ] right down her voice into her life room. Her male parent and the other work forces were standing about in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the adult females were in sandals picking up herring bites on toothpicks off a large glass home base and they were all keeping drinks the colour of H2O with olives and branchlets of batch in them† ( 1495 ) . Sammy sardonically mocks how his parents â€Å"get lemonade† ( 1495 ) when they â€Å"have person over† ( 1495 ) . even â€Å"if it’s a existent racy matter Schlitz in tall spectacless with ‘They’ll Do It Every Time’ sketchs stenciled on† ( 1495 ) . As Sammy runs out to the parking batch to â€Å"look around for [ his ] girls†¦they’re gone. of course† ( 1496 ) . â€Å"Of class. † Of class. he is cognizant that the misss will non detect his surrender. He quits the occupation for himself. He makes his determination non because â€Å"it seems to [ him ] that one time you begin a gesture its fatal non to travel through with it† ( 1496 ) . but he needs to take action. to interrupt through the coop of imaginativeness. In contrast to Lengel’s â€Å"old and gray† ( 1496 ) face inside the shop. â€Å"outside the sunlight is skating about on the asphalt† ( 1496 ) . Sammy’s going to the parking batch represents his first measure into his hereafter. with the Sun polishing ; his farewell to the past. go forthing Lengel’s â€Å"dark gray† ( 1497 ) face and â€Å"stiff [ ing ] † ( 1497 ) back. Sammy’s surrender may non look like a practical pick ; on the other manus. it may take to a better hereafter. It surely requires moral bravery. Because Sammy’s present universe is unsatisfactory. he lives in an imagined 1. where he observes everyone else. If he quits. he can step into a better universe. 1 he has yet to conceive of. but one that may be brighter than the â€Å"dark gray† ( 1497 ) of Lengel’s face or the humdrum of Stokesie’s hereafter. Discontinuing represents his first measure out of his fanciful universe. What is left now is the practical universe which will coerce him to face world and may finally take him to happen felicity. nevertheless hard the way. Plants Cited Updike. John. â€Å"A A ; P. † The Norton Anthology Of Short Fiction. 7. Bausch. Richard. and R. V. Cassill. New York: W W Norton A ; Co Inc. 2006. Print.

Voice Over Internet Protocol(Voip) Essays - Voice Over IP, Broadband

Voice Over Internet Protocol(Voip) VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL (VoIP) INTRODUCTION: In the eyes of most, all packets are created equal. One of the most active areas of telecommunications today is in the area of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The logic behind this trend makes perfect sense. If we have invested heavily in an Internet Protocol (IP) network, why cant we make full use of it? This is a question posed by many managers and Information Technology (IT) professionals in a wide range of businesses. Many businesses would prefer to have one network in and out of their business for reasons ranging from cost effectiveness to manageability. IP telephony offers a promise of consolidation. This will allow an enterprise to converge its traditional phone system and newer data network for greater efficiency. Arieh Dranger, president of neXTel Systems LLC says, I dont think its a question of whether we need VoIP, but when it will come together, because it represents a natural progress of integrating dataperiod. The IP protocol is probably the most efficient at combi ning a universal communications network. Basically, IP telephony is taking the telecom world by storm. It has evolved from a little known and used application in 1995 to an application that is poised for global adoption. But as with all technology, there is a price to be paid, and several entities vying for a piece of the pie. WHAT IS VoIP and HOW DOES IT WORK? To put it simply, VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol. Its a technology that allows network managers to route phone call over the network they use for data transmission. A voice travels over a corporate Intranet or the Internet instead of the public telephone system. Special gateways installed at both the sending and receiving end of a communications channel converts voice to IP packets and back again to voice. This process must take place in a time frame of less than 100 milliseconds to sustain the Quality of Service (QoS) that users are accustomed to from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Now lets take a walk on the more detailed side of what VoIP is and how it works. First and foremost, VoIP is an emerging technology still in the early stages. A personal computer (PC) must capture an analog voice and convert it to a digital signal, compress the audio with a compression-decompression (codec) device and then move it into the IP protocol stack. The codecs are at the heart of any IP telephony software. It is an algorithm that transforms analogue signals into digital ones and vice versa. The next step is to access the network, which is the premise modem connected to the PSTN and channeled to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) modem. The next link in the chain of events is the IP network itself or the Internet. The current structure of the Internet can make it an unstable and unpredictable carrier. Finally, the voice packet must transition back from the IP network to the PSTN, to the receivers modem for conversion back into analog. Each of these steps adds more delay to t he voice packets. A delay approximately of over 550 milliseconds, which is 400 msecs over the QoS acceptable limit, is found to occur. These delays and other issues are just some of the challenges facing the future of VoIP. WHY IS VoIP AN ISSUE? Between 1994 and 1997 ISP revenue grew from about $189 million to over $4.75 billion dollars, making it the telecommunications success story of the nineties. This extraordinary growth, coupled with relatively inexpensive connectivity for the typical user has helped drive the emergence of VoIP. To the typical personal user, this technology will mean nothing more than the ability to make free long distance phone calls. However, to the business world, this technology holds some very profound promises. Its the ability to avoid long distance phone charges that has many scrambling to control the future of VoIP. Companies ranging from the traditional common carriers to the newer next generation telcos are all scrapping for a share of this lucrative market. The VoIP portion of this emerging market is expected to grow at a rate of 149 percent annually through 2001 to about $1.89 billion dollars