CJUS P300 1st Edition Lecture 13 Outline of Last Lecture 1. Felony Scenario2. Confidentially 3. Requesting Discovery4. Defense Lawyer and Discovery5. Dismissing CasesOutline of Current Lecture 1. Class Discussion on Plea Bargains2. Facts about Plea Bargaining3. Why to Plea Bargain4. How to Plea Bargain5. Public and Plea Bargaining Current Lecture1. Class Discussion on Plea Bargains a. Reasons TO bargain (state)i. Saves time for stateii. Pushes cases throughiii. Saves moneyiv. Ensures justicev. Pay attention to other types of crimesvi. Lower incarceration rates b. Reasons NOT to bargain (state)i. Unhappy victimsii. “Cop-out”c. Reasons TO bargain (defendant)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.i. Reduce punishmentii. Save moneyiii. Less jail timeiv. More certaind. Reasons NOT to bargain (defendant)i. Certain penaltyii. Might be not guiltyiii. Labeled as a “snitch”2. Facts about Plea Bargaining a. It is necessary in the world of the criminal justice system. Without it, there wouldbe more problems with getting cases resolved because of time constraints.i. Beneficial to state, defendant, and victims if done properly1. If not done properly then it has negative consequences for everyone involvedii. Fine art, some do it better than othersiii. Happens on a daily basis b. Criminal rule 4i. Defendant must be brought to justice within a year unless defendant doessomething else ii. Time constraints are one of the reasons prosecutors will use a plea bargainc. Types of Plea Bargainingi. Pretrial diversion can be thought of as plea bargainingii. Refiling can be thought of as plea bargaining1. Directly related to the dismissal rate of a prosecutor3. Why to Plea bargain a. Prosecutors get buried alive in worki. Defendants will figure out that they can just wait and their case will most likely get dismissed if they are on the low end of the spectrumb. It is not certain what is going to happen, you control to a great degree what willhappen if the defendant takes the pleai. Plea bargains happens because it is certainty for everyone1. The one uncertainty is will the judge accept it. Though most times they willii. If you have a victim who is going to be traumatized by the trial then you have a responsibility to do something with the defendant to prevent thatiii. Your job as a prosecutor is to make this easier for the victim and make them comfortable in the court room and comfortable with their testimony. It is not easy. 1. If the defense lawyer comes to you with anything that is reasonable then you have an obligation to look at that and discussit with the victim to prevent further traumac. You as the prosecutor need to decide what you want based upon the evidence you haved. Not guilty does not mean innocenti. It means the state did not meet their burden of proof to the satisfaction of the judge or the jury4. How to Plea Bargaina. A defendant can always plead “cold”i. The defendant says “I am going to plead guilty to what the prosecutor hascharged” ii. The prosecutor does not make an offer, the defendant pleads cold and it’sup to the judge to decide what to doiii. The prosecutor can then stand “mute”1. The prosecutor has agreed to not make any argument to the courtat all 2. The defense can still make argument and judge will decide iv. Happens more with lower crimes rather than with higher b. Negotiated pleas agreement is contract between prosecutor and defense lawyeri. Judge is not part of negotiations and should not be part of negotiations until they accept the plea bargainii. Judge does not have to accept the plea bargain1. If they accept it, the bargain, then they are bound to the terms of that bargain as well because it is a contract 2. If the judge doesn’t accept it then trial goes on per usual with prosecutors original charge 3. Judge can say what they believe is necessary for plea agreement and then the attorneys can go back and negotiate it to meet judges standards iii. Prosecutor cannot change it unless they learn something they did not know before that has to do with the defendant (opinion of professor)c. Victim in a felony must be informed of the plea bargaini. Even if the victim doesn’t agree with it, prosecutor can still go forward with plea bargaind. Defendant must be told about the plea agreement by their attorneyi. Prosecutor and judge can do time limits for how long defendant has to accept offer e. Plea bargains are put in writing, if they are felonies, to be legali. Must be signed by prosecutor, defendant, and defense attorneyii. Judge signs plea bargain after they have accepted it 1. Looks at it to make sure one side isn’t taking advantage of other sidef. Plea bargaining works if it’s done properly and with everyone’s interest for justiceto be administered5. Public and Plea Bargaininga. Looks like you’re reducing sentence and they should have gotten a whole lot moreb. Public perception is plea bargaining is letting people off