The Supreme Court issued two rulings today related to plea bargaining. What if a defense attorney fails to pass along a prosecutor’s offer to his client? And what if a defense attorney gives a client really bad advice so an offer is rejected and, after a trial, the client gets a lengthy prison sentence? The Supreme Court grappled with what should be the appropriate remedy, if any, in such circumstances.
Lurking in the background of these cases is the practice of plea bargaining itself. Most Americans mistakenly think that we have a system of jury trials because they tend to hear about such cases on the news. Well, yes, some people have jury trials and some people win the lottery–most do not. According to the figures cited by the Court, “ninety-seven percent of federal convictions and ninety-four percent of state convictions are the result of guilty pleas.” Of the nine justices on the Court, seven did not perceive any problem with this situation.
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