It's Simple, Read the Constitution!

Why are we arguing something within our legal system that is LEGAL? There has been an ongoing debate over whether or not the prosecutor holds too much power within our judicial branch when dealing with plea bargains. Why so heated though? I think it’s because checks and balances are fundamental to our judicial system, “By distributing the essential business of government among three separate but interdependent branches, the Constitutional Framers ensured that the principal powers of the government, legislative, executive and judicial, were not concentrated in the hands of any single branch." The Founding Fathers found it essential and valuable that the decisions of this government were not based on one person’s opinion. Plea bargaining, according to Justice William Erickson, have always been a part of our criminal justice system. But it was not until the seventies when the Supreme Court sanctioned plea bargaining. It made sense to do so, their case loads were huge and jails were overflowing. Nothing much has changed there. However, their necessity brought scrutiny and questions of fairness. Approximately 90% of criminal cases are happening outside the court room. Even though these plea bargains happen outside the courtroom, the Supreme Court has gone out of its way to make certain that these agreements are a reflection of the judicial branch and an official court ruling. To insure balance, the Supreme Court ruled that, Prosecutors will now have to specifically spell out exactly what is expected of both parties in a “cooperation agreement.” However, according to Angela J. Davis, American University law professor, the prosecutors are, “the most powerful officials in the criminal justice system.” A plea bargain is a negotiation based on conflict resolution rather than fact-finding. In judge must find truth within the plea. However, the judge’s decision results from a verbal presentation given by the prosecutor. "What replaces jury trials as the check on the executive branch is not judiciary scrutiny of evidence, but defendant’s consent." It seems that we’ve lost some of the balance here, but it could easily be regained. It is a reality that plea bargaining is what is helping our court system stay afloat, however just because a defendant gives up his/her right to a fair trial, does not mean that they are giving up their rights to receiving a just punishment. I propose that in order to fix this imbalance, smaller juries might be put in place, or a neutral party put in charge of the whole plea bargain process. This would take the might from the arm of the prosecuting attorney and place it back in the hands of the people.