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In Defense of “Bargain Justice”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1979

Thomas W. Church Jr.
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Abstract

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The strongest critics of plea bargaining argue that the practice should be abolished because it coerces defendants to give up their right to trial and because it results in irrational sentences for criminal defendants. Neither charge is applicable to a system of plea negotiations that meets four basic criteria: (1) the defendant always has the alternative of a jury trial at which both verdict and sentence are determined solely on the merits; (2) the defendant is represented throughout negotiations by competent counsel; (3) both defense and prosecution have equal access to relevant evidence; and (4) both possess sufficient resources to take a case to trial. The most fruitful direction of reform is to seek to achieve these conditions rather than attempt to eliminate plea bargaining.

Type
Philosophical Implications
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , Winter 1979 , pp. 509 - 525
Copyright
Copyright © 1979 Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

This essay has benefited from a lively exchange with Albert Alschuler. I regret to report that he remains unconvinced. I also wish to thank Richard Abel for both substantive and stylistic suggestions.

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