08-04-2016, 11:03 AM
For those actually interested in this topic I thought I'd point something out. Plea bargains are initiated by both the prosecution and the defense and both sides have to agree to them, so Fred's assertion that the DA is solely responsible for their implementation is inane. Also, shockingly, Fred fails to point out why plea bargains are so pervasive. Jury trials are long, they're time intensive for both legal teams, they tie up the already impacted court calendar and both sides recognize that a jury can honestly go either way. The level of uncertainty inherent in a jury trial is why both sides prefer to hash the case out on the general merits of the case long before getting to that point. Lastly, the study Fred cites, that does not show 99% of cases end in plea bargains btw, does not include the juvenile justice system. I'm sure the inherent confidentiality of that system is one reason. However, the main reason is that plea bargains do not take place at anything resembling that pace in the juvenile system. Why you ask? There is no jury trial option, all cases are tried before a bench officer. Thus, the prosecution has far less incentive to plea bargain as they know the person who decides innocence or guilt (although they don't use those terms in juvenile court) actually knows what they're doing. This is exactly why almost every officer in the Gray case chose a bench trial, judges make decision based on the law, not emotion or other factors. They are far less susceptible to "if the glove don't fit".
