Need help with reviewing for government AP.
2007-12-04 10:36:41 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
It would drain the prosection's resources to try every case. Trials can be long, drawn out, uncertain, and expensive. Plea bargains are quick, cheap, and guarantee the result. It may not be the "best" result for the prosecution, but it's a trade-off that they are willing to make.
Think about the resources involved with tying up a courtroom, subpoening witnesses (including having to pay for expert witnesses) & documents, preserving evidence, etc. A simple misdemanor DUI, for example, will take a prosecutor an average of 3-5 days in trial litigation alone (not to mention pre-trial litigation, etc.). You have to call in police officers, other witnesses (possibly expert witnesses), etc. and hope that they show up (though they usually do). Plus, you never know when one of your 12 jurors has an ax to grind and will cause a mistrial, making you have to start over again. And, of course, there is always the possibility of an acquital.
By contrast, a plea bargain takes about 10 minutes. Plea bargains help (not guarantee) ensure that the cases most likely to go to trial are those that are most worthy of going to trial--that is, those that are most likely to be decided either way.
2007-12-04 10:45:36 · answer #1 · answered by Brian 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
For good or evil, the criminal justice system would come to an immediate grinding halt if prosecutors would not accept plea bargains. There are not enough judges to try all the potential cases out there so if some grandstanding district attorney said he was not going to plea bargain anything, most of the cases would be dismissed for failure to provide a speedy trial. Almost all cases are plea bargained for good reason.
2007-12-04 10:44:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The main reason is: It is FAST RELIEF. Most people who are charged with a crime get absolutely overwhelmed very quickly and are unable to deal with the stress of a trial. They ask for a solution to end the ordeal as quickly as possible. Plea Bargains are the quickest way to end this ordeal.
2007-12-04 10:41:00 · answer #3 · answered by cyanne2ak 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If every case went to trial, the courts would be completly clogged and be backlogged for years. Plea bargains are cheaper and faster then having a trial for every single case.
2007-12-04 10:45:38 · answer #4 · answered by itz631 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
To save time and money. Also if they don't think they have that strong of a case. They want the bad guy punished.
2007-12-04 10:47:05 · answer #5 · answered by Shazam 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
to close cases and do as many as possible so the district attorney can get so many wins under his/her belt to further their career in politics and become the next president of the united state or so they think
2007-12-04 10:51:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋