Our criminal justice system claims to be fair, but is it really?
Plea bargaining is simply negotiating in a criminal case. There are two types of plea bargains here in Michigan. First is charge bargaining? That means that a criminal defendant’s attorney might agree that the defendant (his client) would plead guilty if the prosecuting attorney will dismiss the more serious charges and permit a plea to a lesser charge. The second kind of plea we use in Michigan is sentencing bargaining. That means that the defendant’s criminal attorney negotiates a less severe sentence that the judge might ordinarily impose on the defendant if there had been no plea.
Plea bargaining did not emerge in the United States criminal system until the late nineteenth century. When the number of caseloads that prosecutors and the court system were handling began to increase exponentially, plea bargaining became a more acceptable method for prosecutors to preserve time and resources, especially given the fact that the resources available to the prosecutors were not increasing to match the caseload It is estimated that in Michigan 96% of criminal convictions arise from guilty pleas rather than proceeding to trial.
Does the prosecutor have to offer me a plea bargain?
No, the Supreme Court has held that a defendant does not have a constitutional right to have the opportunity to engage in plea bargaining. The Court has held however that a defendant does have a right not to be coercive into accepting a plea bargain. Prosecutors have a higher standard of ethics since they are viewed as the “ministers of justice.” While most prosecutors will not openly admit that the plea bargain is used as leverage against a defendants, many admit that this is possible. This is because of the nearly unlimited discretion given to prosecutors in Michigan.
This means that prosecutors can choose which cases to file charges in, which ones to offer a plea bargain to, the extent of the plea bargain offered, and whether to have the case proceed to trial. The Supreme Court that has ruled in response to prosecutor discretion in plea bargaining, that if a prosecutor chooses to advance a criminal case to trial rather than make a plea offer, the prosecutor has the ability to do just that, and it is of little consequence what the prosecutor’s motivations or incentives for doing so are.
In what ways could a prosecutor use a plea bargain as leverage?
Some prosecutors overcharge defendants in an attempt to gain bargaining leverage over the defendant. Due to the large range of interrelated laws in the American legal system, it is easy for prosecutors to stack on multiple charges to a defendant’s criminal case. Since most crimes can be charged in a variety of ways, there are prosecutors here in our state that charge the most severe crimes, as their strategy to negotiate a plea to a lower charge. It’s the old negotiating game; start high and negotiate down from there.
Another controversy with this system is that additional defendants in a case have an incentive from the plea-bargaining process to testify against the other defendants in the case in order to gain the advantage of a better plea bargain. Prosecutors may also only offer a plea bargain to one defendant and not the other defendant in order to ensure both convictions by one of the defendants accepting a plea bargaining and entering a guilty plea in exchange for testifying against the other defendant, increasing the odds that the other defendant will be convicted as well.
Why would a prosecutor do this?
There are many incentives that would possibly explain why a prosecutor would want to offer a defendant a plea bargain rather than proceeding to trial. These include if there are problems with either the amount of evidence or the strength of their proof with the case, due to the limited resources and time available to the prosecutor, because of personal motivation, and to avoid any accusation or responsibility for any argument raised on appeal of coerced confessions tactics.
What can a defendant do to protect themselves?
A defendant who is facing criminal charges should retain a highly respected and experienced criminal defense attorney. The best Michigan criminal defense lawyers are familiar with the plea bargaining process and are therefore skilled at negotiating with prosecutors. Attorneys at The Kronzek Firm are also familiar with what charges are typically associated with a specific crime and are also familiar with determining the probability that a case will win at trial. Our top defense attorneys are therefore equipped to determine if coercion is evident, and are also knowledgeable about what steps to take if it is. The skilled criminal defense attorneys at The Kronzek Firm have spent decades helping people in Michigan defend their rights and protect themselves. We are available 24/7 at 866 766 5245 to help you.