1950 A expert political model Plusses Fast less than 17 secs in some cases Open Politically responsive to community values Effective Minuses No checks legal or procedural against arbitrary decisions No voice for defendant humiliating Politically responsive as opposed to responsive to the individual merits of the case Plusses and minuses of A L Plusses Lots of checks against governmental action Individual advocacy voice in process Ample opportunity to consider individual merits Innovative entrepreneurial lawyers probing the limits of law Minuses Slow Costly Dependent on litigant resources Unpredictable Incentive to remain silent Remember not all self help scenarios are created equal Go it alone L1 acts unilaterally not a problem here The Godfather L1 goes to a third party who acts unilaterally not a problem here Mutual accommodation L1 and L2 work it out without help Great as long as the plea bargain reflects a fair bargain that reflects the party s guilt or innocence Plea bargaining expert political model hybrid Why plea bargain if you re a defendant Differential charging Why plea bargain if you re a prosecutor Can t afford to try every case We force litigants to bargain with the law Plusses and minuses Plusses Relatively efficient Self help is tailor made and flexible There s recourse to the courts if no deal can be reached Minuses Not transparent Relatively few checks on prosecutor s discretion Outcomes likely to be highly variable and resource dependent Places strategic concerns over substance American A L v German B L Feature American A L German B L Juries Yes but Yes but Guilt sentencing together No Yes Elaborate rules of evidence Yes No Lead investigator Parties and their lawyers competing records Court single dossier Incentives for defendant participation No Yes Prosecutorial discretion Broad Limited System Efficiency Protection of civil liberties 1950s US political model 1 4 A L 4 1 US plea bargaining 2 3 Bureaucratic legalism 3 2 Ranking the alternatives
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