Congress Needs to End Warrantless Spying, Not Make It Permanent

Re:Congress Needs to End Warrantless Spying, Not Make It Per... by pmoriarty on Saturday July 01, 2017 @02:47PM (#14678364)

That's step one. Step two is to make warrants more than just a rubber stamp. Step three is to make law enforcement, prosecutors and judges less incestuous. Step four is to bring more accountability to the law enforcement and judicial systems. Maybe sometime down the line we'd get something that resembles justice.

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Re:Congress Needs to End Warrantless Spying, Not Make It Per... by kartan on Saturday July 01, 2017 @05:42PM (#14679203)

> Maybe sometime down the line we'd get something that resembles justice.

It will be welcome.

"The defendant enters a plea to the charges brought by the U.S. Attorney at a court hearing known as arraignment. More than 90 percent of defendants plead guilty rather than go to trial."

* http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/types-cases/cri...

"In 2013, while 8 percent of all federal criminal charges were dismissed (either because of a mistake in fact or law or because the defendant had decided to cooperate), more than 97 percent of the remainder were resolved through plea bargains, and fewer than 3 percent went to trial. The plea bargains largely determined the sentences imposed."

"[...] the prosecutor-dictated plea bargain system, by creating such inordinate pressures to enter into plea bargains, appears to have led a significant number of defendants to plead guilty to crimes they never actually committed."

* http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/11/20/why-innocent-peop...

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