Plea Bargaining in the US - Essay Example

It is a primary priority for the judicial system to provide services efficiently and quickly, never delaying or denying justice wherever it is required. However, the budgetary allocation for the judicial system, together with other major sectors has continued to shrink because of the ballooning every fiscal year, brought about by increased population growth with a stagnating economy. According to a task force instituted to address issues in the judicial system, there was major underfunding within the judicial system, unlike other state government elements that fared much better in the recent economic crisis of 2009/2010 (Bibas, n.d.).

Considering that most expenses within the judiciary are staff wages, it has been argued in the past that plea bargaining is the best thing that happened to the judicial system. Political analysts and lawmakers have dubbed plea-bargaining as "the new criminal justice system." Because plea-bargaining offers both efficiency and reduced logistical and financial resources, it is overly perceived that without plea-bargaining, an explosion of court cases would erupt, increasing costs rapidly while at the same time disrupting the present legal system.

Justification

The primary advantage of the continuance of plea bargaining is that it is vital in ensuring sustained efficiency and function of the criminal justice framework. Many people think that if plea bargaining would be discontinued; the judicial legal framework would just cave in from the load of managing ever-increasing criminal cases with limited resources. Individuals supporting plea bargaining argue that while felony caseloads are seen to increase two-fold with every passing decade, the assets set aside to facilitate the activities associated with tackling crime and providing justice only increase by a small margin (Golde & Bonjour, 1975). They contend that plea bargaining is therefore required for the efficient allocation and distribution of judicial resources. Individuals in support additionally argue that extra increases in expenses because of executing trials for each defendant would only be another cost-generating gateway, overburdening an already starving economy.

Plea bargaining is additionally preferred because it offers extra flexibility in the US judicial framework. Prosecutors are offered the opportunity to consider equitable elements in certain other cases, for them to make an informed decision on matters about the necessary action needed at that particular moment. Through the cooperation of the defendants and the prosecutor, suspects who result to cooperate are rewarded in some way. Defendants who decide to take a plea bargaining agreement, along the way, reflect and admit their guilt.

The system has additionally been criticized for undermining the framework for the judicial service section. They argue that plea-bargaining permits the government to sidestep the hefty due process of rendering one to be innocent until proven otherwise. The process may, therefore, put innocent people in jail. Plea bargaining gives the prosecutors absolute powers, becoming the judge and the jury, executing all determinations depending on the chances of winning or losing a trial.

Other models such as the Jury system have been tested, even though they are said to be expensive. Read More