Plea Bargains

The use of plea bargains in the legal system of the U.S has accounted for more than 90% of the criminal cases. Plea bargains are agreements between the defendant and the prosecutor in cases criminal in nature where the defendant pleads guilty with the goal of receiving a lesser sentencing. Although plea bargains are controversial, it has helped in handling many criminal cases to date and reduced the over pilling court cases while at the same time ensuring both parties are satisfied with the criminal procedure. However, there are some reasons raised against the application of plea bargaining in the justice system mainly by taking away the constitutional right of the defendant.
Firstly, the use of plea bargaining helps in the reduction of caseloads both for the courts and the prosecutors. As such, it gives the prosecutor time to prepare for more serious cases while at the same time making the courts to be less overcrowded with petty cases and offenders. Besides, taking into accord the rights of the offenders, it gives them the liberty to hasten trials by allowing the opportunity to agree to particular blame voluntarily thus avoiding trails that are expensive and time-consuming. Moreover, it ensures certainty where the defendants can know the maximum sentence they will face in case of serious criminal offenses. Also, the use of pleas ensures that a guilty person is found guilty more quickly unlike during trial where the prosecution is required to produce enough evidence with no benefit of a doubt (“15 Serious Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining”, N.

p). Also, it gives room for its primary purpose where it reduces the maximum sentence that one can be given if the case goes to trial. As a result, one can avoid the possibility of being convicted for a longer period. The use of plea bargaining also makes the solving of a bigger case possible by making the defendant testify against a co-defendant hence solving two cases at ones.
Despite all these advantages and reasons for the use of plea bargaining, there are some reasons against its applicability. First, the use of plea bargaining makes the accused be faced with enormous pressure and though it’s controlled one can be coerced into accepting a plea agreement. Besides, it leads to shoddy and poor preparation of cases and investigations due to overreliance in making of plea deals. Also, its use can lead to the sentencing of an innocent person where one due to pressure might agree to a plea. Lastly, plea bargaining is by far is unconstitutional since it denies the accused the right to trial by a jury (“15 Serious Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining”, N.p).
The use of plea bargaining has it reasons supporting it and its disadvantages. However, it’s evident the use of plea bargaining does better than harm by reducing a backlog of criminal case awaiting trial evidenced by its use in solving more than 90% of criminal cases. Measures should, therefore, be taken to ensure its efficiency and accountability.
Work cited
“15 Serious Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining”. Connectus, 2016, http://connectusfund.org/15-serious-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-plea-bargaining.