This page shows questions in the Plea Bargaining public release module at MSDE. American Government
"Plea Bargaining"
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A student is researching the history of the use of plea bargains in criminal trials. The compelling question is this:
For a defendant, do the advantages of plea bargaining outweigh the disadvantages?
The student has found the following sources. Use the sources to answer the questions that follow.
Background Information
A plea bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor to resolve a criminal case before trial. The defendant agrees to plead guilty or “no contest” to one or more charges in exchange for certain concessions, such as a reduced sentence, lesser charges, or the dismissal of other charges. This allows both sides to avoid the time and expense of a trial and provides the defendant with more certainty about the outcome. The judge must approve the agreement, but the terms are negotiated between the prosecution and the defense.
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Source Information: This graphic and excerpt come from an article titled "An Offer You Can’t Refuse, How U.S. Federal Prosecutors Force Drug Defendants to Plead Guilty." It was published in 2013 on the Human Rights Watch website. According to their site, this organization investigates and reports on abuses happening in all parts of the world.
Source A
 | There is nothing inherently wrong with resolving cases through guilty pleas—it reduces the many burdens of trial preparation and the trial itself on prosecutors, defendants, judges, and witnesses. But in the U.S. plea bargaining system, many federal prosecutors strong-arm [threaten] defendants by offering them shorter prison terms if they plead guilty . . . Such coercive [forceful] plea bargaining tactics [are widespread] in state and federal criminal cases . . . The threat of higher sentences puts “enormous pressure [on defendants] to plead,” . . . a former federal prosecutor . . . told us. So much so that plea agreements, once a choice to consider, have . . . [mostly] become an offer drug defendants cannot afford to refuse. Only three percent of federal drug defendants go to trial. Human Rights Watch believes this historically low rate of trials reflects an unbalanced and unhealthy criminal justice system. |
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Source Information: This 2010 interview was conducted by National Public Radio (NPR) veteran journalist and host Neal Conan on his long-running show Talk of the Nation. The participants were Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and law professor, and Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project1 and former vice president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Source B
Interview Transcript:
Neal Conan: Can you give us an . . . example of a case where you got an indictment2, you think somebody is guilty and offer a plea instead of going to trial?
Laurie Levenson: Oh, yes. It happens all the time. . . . Plea bargains sometimes come at the initiative of the defense, where they say, “ . . . we think that this would be a fair deal. We can individualize justice if you let us plea guilty.” Nobody wants to spend the time going to trial. They don’t want the judges to hear all the information. They don’t want to put the victims through it, and neither do we. We end up with a plea bargain.
Barry Scheck: Very frequently, a defendant will take a look at the evidence. It’s overwhelming . . . And you can get a better deal than you would if you’re convicted after . . . So you take it. On the other hand, and this is what’s really troubling, is that there are lots of defendants who are facing . . . really severe mandatory minimums or really severe sanctions under the federal sentencing guidelines that will plead guilty to crimes that they didn’t commit. . . .
Neal Conan: In other words, if they’re facing 18 counts3 . . . that would put them in jail for a very, very long time, they might say, “I really don’t want to take my chances in front of a jury. Even though I think I’m innocent, I will take the lesser charge and do five to 15 [years]” or whatever it is.
Laurie Levenson: Right. Or even in cases where they know they're innocent and they'll take a term of the imprisonment rather than face life in prison or even the death penalty.
1 Innocence Project — a nonprofit legal organization that works to help people wrongly convicted of a crime and promotes reforms to the criminal justice system
2 indictment — a formal charge of a serious crime
3 counts — charges
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Source Information: This list was adapted from an article titled “The Plea Bargaining Controversy,” written by professor of criminology at the University of Maryland, Dr. Douglas Smith. This article was published in 1987 in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Source C
| Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining | |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
|
|
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Source Information: Carolyn E. Demarest served as a New York Supreme Court Justice for 26 years and has a career in the legal system spanning over four decades. She wrote this letter to the editor of the New York Times in 1994.
Source D
“Apart from the simple reality of too many cases for the limited resources available, there are substantial benefits to be derived from plea bargaining . . .
“Often a crime victim is very young or elderly, or otherwise infirm1 and does not want to be subjected to the rigors of a trial . . . In such cases, acceptance of a plea to a lesser crime, with a less-than maximum sentence, may be mercy not only for the accused but also for the accuser . . .
“In some cases, the judge and lawyers know of compelling evidence of guilt . . . but know the jury will have to decide the case without such evidence because it has been suppressed . . . under applicable rules of law. At times a witness . . . may be unreliable . . . which will render his or her testimony less credible before a jury. In those cases a plea will insure a conviction where a trial may result in acquittal.”
1 infirm — not physically or mentally strong, especially through age or illness
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Source Information: This list of selected Supreme Court decisions related to plea bargaining was adapted from The Colossal Book of Criminal Citations. It was written by Richard Davis, an attorney with multi-state criminal trial experience. He wrote this book as a resource for the accused and convicted.
Source E
Selected Top 10 Supreme Court Cases Influencing Plea Bargains
#1: Brady v. United States (1963)
- the prosecution has a constitutional obligation to disclose any evidence that is favorable to the defendant
- ensures that defendants are aware of any . . . evidence that could affect their decision to accept a plea agreement
#4: Henderson v. Morgan (1976)
- a plea is not considered voluntary unless the defendant received real notice of the true nature of the charge and the consequences
- requires a defendant’s lawyer to explain the charged crimes before permitting the defendant to plead guilty
#9: Missouri v. Frye (2012)
- requires counsel to inform the defendant when the prosecution extends a plea offer
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Why was the data in Source A presented as a bar graph?
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Criminal defendants may feel pressured to accept a plea bargain if they are facing a harsh sentence. (Source C)
Which part of Source B best corroborates this claim from Source C?
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Which claim is best supported by the information in Source D?
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Which fact from Source A most refutes the viewpoint of the author of Source D?
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Which aspect of Source B makes it most credible for learning about plea bargaining?
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The decisions outlined in Source E are meant to address which problem described in a different source?
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Claim: Criminal defendants assume certain risks when accepting a plea bargain.
Which statement from Source C supports this claim?
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Which statement would the author of Source E most likely support?
This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.
Assume that the information provided in the sources is credible. Complete the following extended-response question:
For a defendant, do the advantages of plea bargaining outweigh the disadvantages?
- Develop a claim in response to the question.
- Cite evidence from the provided sources to support your claim.
- Use your knowledge of government in your response.
Type your answer in the space provided.