CJS 101 1st Edition Lecture 17 Outline of Last Lecture l. How are judges selected?ll. Senates recordlll. State judicial selectionllll. Plea bargainOutline of Current Lecture l. plea bargainA. courtroom work groupB. local legal structureC. going ratesll. wrongful convictionsA. national registry of exonerationsCurrent LectureWhy do lawyers plea bargain? System pressure, assumption: “they are all guilty”If they are guilty… trial is a waste of time, save trial for those cases where there are real questions3 concepts to explain plea bargaining: courtroom workgroup, local legal culture, going ratescourtroom work group: many courts include same prosecutors, defense attorneys and judgesregular interactions creates “workgroup?These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Local legal culture: regular interaction--- shared norms and values (differ from court to court, state to state ect)Local legal culture: shared norms--- shared beliefs about which cases should go to trial and determine the “going rate” of individual cases Going rates: shared norms--- “worth of case”Going rates: what is a just outcome for a particular case, set parameters for plea bargainingIf a prosecutor offers and agreement that fits the “going rate” he/she is giving the defendant what they deserve and not giving them a bargainif a defendant goes to trail: may be free, may be harsher sentenceFactors that lead to wrongful conviction: mistaken eye-witness identification, false confession, perjury or false accusation, false or misleading forensic evidence, official misconduct, inadequate legal defenseNational Registry of exonerations: database that track exonerations or wrongful
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