PRO CASE: PLEA BARGAINING 2010-2011 TOPIC
My partner and I stand in affirmation of the resolution which states, Resolved: In the United States, plea bargaining undermines the criminal justice system. For the clarification of this debate, the PRO team offers the following definitions:
Plea Bargaining: (criminal law) a negotiation in which the defendant agrees to enter a
plea of guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecutor agrees to drop a more serious charged
(wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
Criminal justice system: Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of
governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and
sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts
(www.id.uscourts.gov/terms-cd.htm)
Undermine: To weaken or ruin by degrees
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undermine)
Contention 1: Plea bargaining coerces the defendant
Coercion is defined as “any...plan...intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm...against any person.” (28) For the defendants, failing to plead guilty would result in a harsher sentence if convicted. A tactic used by prosecutors to coerce a defendant to take the plea bargaining option is charging the defendant with multiple crimes. The most famous example is the fact pattern of a case heard before the Supreme Court. The defendant was charged with forging a check for $88.30. The prosecutor offered the defendant a sentence of five years, in exchange for a guilty plea. When the defendant refused to plead guilty, the prosecutor threatened to charge the defendant under the state’s habitual crime statute—since the defendant had committed two prior crimes—which carried a mandatory life sentence.(FF5 p. 38) By using such tactics, prosecutors can easily coerce people into plea bargaining, including the innocent. Serious charges inspire fear, and cause people to be more likely to plea, regardless of whether or not they are guilty. This undermines the goal of the criminal justice system, which is to protect those who are innocent as well as punish those who are guilty.
Contention 2: Plea Bargaining infringes on the rights of the accused
When people take the plea bargaining option; they waive many of their rights as those of the accused, granted to them under the Bill of Rights. Some of these include the right to not self-incriminate, the right to a trial by jury, and the right to confront and cross examine the accusers (due process of law/habeas corpus). Some states require that judges confirm that the rights are given up voluntarily, but this is not always the case. Many people may not realize the rights that they are waiving, and the prosecutor’s attorney can put huge amounts of pressure on the accused in order to force them to plea guilty. Because of the intense pressure that plea bargaining imposes; people are coerced into giving up their rights out of fear of a higher sentence. This undermines the criminal justice system by removing the rights of the accused. If these rights are removed, the system no longer protects the innocent.
Contention 3: Under plea bargaining, criminals are not justly punished
In exchange for “honesty” a criminal can be given a lesser punishment before he is released into society again. This is evident in the case of Miladin Kovecevic, a basketball player who beat a man into a coma. Using plea bargaining, his sentence was reduced from eight years to two. This sentence has drawn harsh criticism from many parties such as the victim’s family and several U.S. senators for being lenient on someone who caused serious brain damage, bodily harm, and potentially lethal injuries (29). The motivation for prosecutors and defense attorneys to bargain for these lesser punishments, such as Kovecevic’s sentence which was reduced from 8 years to 2, comes from their own personal interests. Prosecutors, who usually are elected officials, find incentive to obtain a plea bargain in order to lighten their enormous caseloads and further their political careers, such as gaining favor from an influential attorney or enhance their reputation (FF7 p.60) . At the same time, defense attorneys, who may receive as little as two dollars per hour as compensation (FF7 p.62), are motivated to obtain a plea bargain in order maximize their profits. In the end, the punishment for those involved in plea bargaining depends on the negotiation skills of the attorney, who is usually motivated by his own personal interest, and not on due process for a fair trial, which is what the criminal justice system is intended to do.
The practice of plea bargaining undermines the criminal justice system because goes against its stance that the innocent will be protected and the guilty will be punished, it waives constitutional rights of the defendant in trial, and because it puts many cases into a situation where they are not professionally handled with due process or with the correct parties. For these reasons, we strongly urge an AFFIRMATIVE ballot.
Contention 4: Plea bargaining may cause innocent people to plead guilty
Because of plea bargaining, many innocent people may plead guilty. Serious charges inspire fear, and cause people to be more likely to plea, regardless of whether or not they are guilty. If they feel as if they don’t have sufficient evidence to support their side, they may feel as if pleading is there only viable option. This undermines the rights of the innocent who attempts to avoid the risk of a conviction by going for a lesser sentence. This can lead to abuse, and forced convictions. In the end, it undermines the goal of the criminal justice system, which is to punish those who are guilty and protect those who are innocent. This goal is also undermined if both are faced with the uniform pressure of plea bargaining. Because it is active in 95% of cases, a large percentage of the accused are faced with the choice. If this pressure is uniform, regardless of whether someone is guilty, it fails to help separate the guilty from the innocent, which is what the system was created to do.
You may use any of the arguments, research, evidence, or support from this speech; however, you may NOT claim this as your own. Please give me credit whenever you use something from my speech! Thanks!
Good luck guys!
- Atharva Dhole
My partner and I stand in affirmation of the resolution which states, Resolved: In the United States, plea bargaining undermines the criminal justice system. For the clarification of this debate, the PRO team offers the following definitions:
Plea Bargaining: (criminal law) a negotiation in which the defendant agrees to enter a
plea of guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecutor agrees to drop a more serious charged
(wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
Criminal justice system: Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of
governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and
sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts
(www.id.uscourts.gov/terms-cd.htm)
Undermine: To weaken or ruin by degrees
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undermine)
Contention 1: Plea bargaining coerces the defendant
Coercion is defined as “any...plan...intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm...against any person.” (28) For the defendants, failing to plead guilty would result in a harsher sentence if convicted. A tactic used by prosecutors to coerce a defendant to take the plea bargaining option is charging the defendant with multiple crimes. The most famous example is the fact pattern of a case heard before the Supreme Court. The defendant was charged with forging a check for $88.30. The prosecutor offered the defendant a sentence of five years, in exchange for a guilty plea. When the defendant refused to plead guilty, the prosecutor threatened to charge the defendant under the state’s habitual crime statute—since the defendant had committed two prior crimes—which carried a mandatory life sentence.(FF5 p. 38) By using such tactics, prosecutors can easily coerce people into plea bargaining, including the innocent. Serious charges inspire fear, and cause people to be more likely to plea, regardless of whether or not they are guilty. This undermines the goal of the criminal justice system, which is to protect those who are innocent as well as punish those who are guilty.
Contention 2: Plea Bargaining infringes on the rights of the accused
When people take the plea bargaining option; they waive many of their rights as those of the accused, granted to them under the Bill of Rights. Some of these include the right to not self-incriminate, the right to a trial by jury, and the right to confront and cross examine the accusers (due process of law/habeas corpus). Some states require that judges confirm that the rights are given up voluntarily, but this is not always the case. Many people may not realize the rights that they are waiving, and the prosecutor’s attorney can put huge amounts of pressure on the accused in order to force them to plea guilty. Because of the intense pressure that plea bargaining imposes; people are coerced into giving up their rights out of fear of a higher sentence. This undermines the criminal justice system by removing the rights of the accused. If these rights are removed, the system no longer protects the innocent.
Contention 3: Under plea bargaining, criminals are not justly punished
In exchange for “honesty” a criminal can be given a lesser punishment before he is released into society again. This is evident in the case of Miladin Kovecevic, a basketball player who beat a man into a coma. Using plea bargaining, his sentence was reduced from eight years to two. This sentence has drawn harsh criticism from many parties such as the victim’s family and several U.S. senators for being lenient on someone who caused serious brain damage, bodily harm, and potentially lethal injuries (29). The motivation for prosecutors and defense attorneys to bargain for these lesser punishments, such as Kovecevic’s sentence which was reduced from 8 years to 2, comes from their own personal interests. Prosecutors, who usually are elected officials, find incentive to obtain a plea bargain in order to lighten their enormous caseloads and further their political careers, such as gaining favor from an influential attorney or enhance their reputation (FF7 p.60) . At the same time, defense attorneys, who may receive as little as two dollars per hour as compensation (FF7 p.62), are motivated to obtain a plea bargain in order maximize their profits. In the end, the punishment for those involved in plea bargaining depends on the negotiation skills of the attorney, who is usually motivated by his own personal interest, and not on due process for a fair trial, which is what the criminal justice system is intended to do.
The practice of plea bargaining undermines the criminal justice system because goes against its stance that the innocent will be protected and the guilty will be punished, it waives constitutional rights of the defendant in trial, and because it puts many cases into a situation where they are not professionally handled with due process or with the correct parties. For these reasons, we strongly urge an AFFIRMATIVE ballot.
Contention 4: Plea bargaining may cause innocent people to plead guilty
Because of plea bargaining, many innocent people may plead guilty. Serious charges inspire fear, and cause people to be more likely to plea, regardless of whether or not they are guilty. If they feel as if they don’t have sufficient evidence to support their side, they may feel as if pleading is there only viable option. This undermines the rights of the innocent who attempts to avoid the risk of a conviction by going for a lesser sentence. This can lead to abuse, and forced convictions. In the end, it undermines the goal of the criminal justice system, which is to punish those who are guilty and protect those who are innocent. This goal is also undermined if both are faced with the uniform pressure of plea bargaining. Because it is active in 95% of cases, a large percentage of the accused are faced with the choice. If this pressure is uniform, regardless of whether someone is guilty, it fails to help separate the guilty from the innocent, which is what the system was created to do.
You may use any of the arguments, research, evidence, or support from this speech; however, you may NOT claim this as your own. Please give me credit whenever you use something from my speech! Thanks!
Good luck guys!
- Atharva Dhole
nice one
ReplyDelete