Re:How mandatory minimum sentences distort plea bargaining
by joe_the_user on Friday January 25, 2013 @04:06PM
(#5117634)
Yes, in general the defense bar would like a world in which fewer charges can be brought ... The criminal prosecution bar would like a world in which charges and pleas reflect the general reality of who is causing societal harm ...
Seems like you are spinning things here. Even if we are generous and say all the prosecutors in the end only, sincerely want to keep all the dangerous criminals off the streets, it easy to expect that they'd want a very large number of charges available so they would have tremendous leverage to force plea-bargaining without the inconvenience of a trial - a situation which many people would say more or less already exists today.
Seems like you are spinning things here. Even if we are generous and say all the prosecutors in the end only, sincerely want to keep all the dangerous criminals off the streets, it easy to expect that they'd want a very large number of charges available so they would have tremendous leverage to force plea-bargaining without the inconvenience of a trial - a situation which many people would say more or less already exists today.