Are plea bargains a sign of guilt or a last resort?

**MissJacksonCA** · 12-Jun-2007

Personally I that there's a lot of cases where it seems like someone takes a plea deal in order to get less time than take the chance that the jury could convict them and throw the book at them. Or they're pressured by family to take a plea. But it really bothers me.

And then there's the people who get a plea deal in order to testify against someone else with a reduced sentence or whatever. I can't really trust someone who stands to benefit from talking smack about their cohort.

So howduyya feel about plea bargains?

**Terran** · 12-Jun-2007

You forgot one other reason people go for plea bargains....I think it might be the most common reason....money.......long drawn out court trials are very expensive!....!

**MissJacksonCA** · 12-Jun-2007

I'd rather pay 50k to an attorney than have big bertha as my cell mate butt munch me in the middle of the night but i'm picky like that

**Terran** · 12-Jun-2007

You mean youd rather pay 50k to an attorney for the CHANCE that you wont have big bertha as your cell mate.....

You could end up paying the 50k and still getting big bertha as your cell mate....

You could end up paying 50k and about half way through the trial your attorney advises you to take a plea bargain....or pay an additional 50k for a slimmer chance of not having big bertha as a cell mate...

And then theres a matter of what type of case you talking about....people are more willing to take plea bargains when the time they would have to serve is not terribly long 2-10 year type sentences....

And then theres the issue of how many of these people actually have a spare 50k lying around to pay for an attorney.....If they have a house I guess they could get a loan....but then if they have a family living in that home this would mean they would have to pay the increased rates and not the person on trial(if the person still goes to prison)....etc etc..... plea bargains can be very appealing money savers...

**MissJacksonCA** · 12-Jun-2007

When it comes to the possibility of jail time i'm optimistic... I can cry on command for a jury... heck I can cry on command for my mechanic (not that it helps) ...I dont care if I get an offer for 2 months in a county jail with a private cell... I just wouldn't want to be subjected to being near bertha... I'm one of those people who absolutely would have to exhaust every possible measure including bribery before i'd be willing to subject myself to jail with the rest of the undesireables...

and i'll also promise my first unborn child and to marry whoever gets me off of whatever crime i've committed... i'll agree its hard to get good representation and that it comes at a cost and that a lot of people dont have the advantage of being able to pay that fee... I would prolly hafta mortgage or sell off my cabin to get an attorney if I wasn't related to one and know a few socially... hopefully if I ever commit a crime its sensational and I get free representation because my lawyer is a media whore =)

**coma** · 12-Jun-2007

Originally Posted by MissJacksonCA

I'd rather pay 50k to an attorney than have big bertha as my cell mate butt munch me in the middle of the night but i'm picky like that

To pay 50k you would first have to HAVE 50k.

Public Defenders suck. Many through no fault of their own. Budgets cut and the cases pile up/ They walk into court, scan the file quickly, then tell you to plea.
If you dont plea and are found guilty, you often get a punitive sentence.
Often DAs overcharge to scare the piss out of you and get you to plea to something that is way too hars, but better than the overblown charge they cook up/

Many innocent people plea becasue their backs against the wall. They know it loks bad for them, their defense is almost Nil. so they cut their losses.

**MissJacksonCA** · 12-Jun-2007

I just picked the 50k figure outta my head... I'm sure I could find reasonable counsel for much less for any type of case... with an exception being the barracuda I hire for my divorce which of course would be paid for by my sack of swine ex...

I'm not going to go out and hire Mark Geragos or anything.... not that he has the greatest record of clients getting off lol...

**Cody** · 12-Jun-2007

Getting arrested sucks man.

**Eyebiter** · 12-Jun-2007

The justice system as we know it would fall apart if everyone asked for a jury trial. Thus the need for plea bargains to keep things moving.

**MissJacksonCA** · 12-Jun-2007

And here I thought plea bargains were an attempt to get a conviction to keep your job and to look good to the community while undermining the intelligence of the accused and intimidating them into copping a plea. hehehe\\

**coma** · 13-Jun-2007

Originally Posted by MissJacksonCA

I just picked the 50k figure outta my head... I'm sure I could find reasonable counsel for much less for any type of case..

Not true at all. You often dont know your lawyer sucks until you get screwed. The reason Money keeps coming up because ITS ALL ABOUT MONEY (and lots of it)
No money = no justice
Been there and thats a fact.

One cannot comprehend the injustice of being broke and fighting for your freedom until you've been there. Everyone else is guessing and they are often incorrect.

**darth los** · 23-Jun-2007

Plea bargains are in place to save the municipality money. 80-90% of all cases never even get to trial . The truth is that if most cases went to trial the court system would be hopelessly swamped.

**flyboy** · 24-Jun-2007

Originally Posted by MissJacksonCA

Personally I that there's a lot of cases where it seems like someone takes a plea deal in order to get less time than take the chance that the jury could convict them and throw the book at them. Or they're pressured by family to take a plea. But it really bothers me.

And then there's the people who get a plea deal in order to testify against someone else with a reduced sentence or whatever. I can't really trust someone who stands to benefit from talking smack about their cohort.

So howduyya feel about plea bargains?

i think sometimes they do actually work. my dad was in court on monday charged with assault,(he didnt hit no one) and he plea bargained to get ''bound over'' for 12 months, if he gets into any trouble in thease 12 months he is back in court to pay £500.so yes they do have some good to em! (he didnt admit assault,he admitted ''disturbing'' the peace in stead.) because the court wanted him to admit to something.

its a long,long story i cant be arsed to explain!

**darth los** · 24-Jun-2007

Originally Posted by flyboy

i think sometimes they do actually work. my dad was in court on monday charged with assault,(he didnt hit no one) and he plea bargained to get ''bound over'' for 12 months, if he gets into any trouble in thease 12 months he is back in court to pay £500.so yes they do have some good to em! (he didnt admit assault,he admitted ''disturbing'' the peace in stead.) because the court wanted him to admit to something.

its a long,long story i cant be arsed to explain!

A plea bargain is an admission of guilt either way. Just make sure to what it is you are admitting to. Many people who get probation deal feel they got away with something when in reality it has all the reprocuscions of a felony or whatever except jailtime, including disenfranchisement in some cases.