Plea Negotiations: Pragmatic Justice in an Imperfect World (Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies)

Despite a popular view that trials are the focal point of the criminal justice process, in reality, the most frequent way a criminal matter resolves is not through a fiercely fought battle between state and defendant, but instead through a process of negotiation between the prosecution and defence, resulting in a defendant pleading guilty in exchange for agreed concessions from the prosecution. This book presents an original empirical case-study of plea negotiations drawing upon interviews with legal actors and an analysis of defence practitioner case files, to shine light on the processes and ways in which an agreed outcome is reached in criminal prosecutions, within the setting of a jurisdiction, like many others world-wide, which is suffering major shifts in state resources. Plea negotiations, also referred to as "plea bargaining", "negotiated guilty pleas" and "negotiated resolutions" are neither an alloyed benefit nor a detriment for defendants, victims or the criminal justice system generally, and like all compromises, this book shows how the perfect "justice" outcome gives way to the good, or just the reasonably acceptable justice outcome. Asher Flynn is Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Director of the Social and Political Sciences Graduate Research Program, Monash University, Australia. Arie Freiberg is Emeritus Professor at Monash University, Australia "Despite a popular view that rials are the focal point of the criminal justice process, with fiercely fought battles between state and defendant, in reality, the most frequent way a criminal matter is resolved is through a process of negotiation between the prosecution and defence, resulting in a defendant pleading guilty in exchange for agreed concessions from the prosecution. This book presents an original empirical case-study of plea negotiations drawing upon interviews with legal actors and an analysis of defence practitioner case files, to shine light on the process and ways in which an agreed outcome is reached in criminal prosecutions, within the setting of a jurisdiction, like many others world-wide, which is suffering major shifts in state resources. Plea negotiations, also referred to as "plea bargaining", "negotiated guilty pleas" and "negotiated resolutions" are neither an alloyed benefit nor a detriment for defendants, victims or the criminal justice system generally, and like all compromises, this book shows how the perfect "justice" outcome gives way to the good, or just the reasonably acceptable justice outcome."--Résumé de l'éditeur "Despite a popular view that trials are the focal point of the criminal justice process, with fiercely fought battles between state and defendant, in reality, the most frequent way a criminal matter is resolved is through a process of negotiation between the prosecution and defence, resulting in a defendant pleading guilty in exchange for agreed concessions from the prosecution. This book presents an original empirical case-study of plea negotiations drawing upon interviews with legal actors and an analysis of defence practitioner case files, to shine light on the process and ways in which an agreed outcome is reached in criminal prosecutions, within the setting of a jurisdiction, like many others world-wide, which is suffering major shifts in state resources. Plea negotiations, also referred to as "plea bargaining", "negotiated guilty pleas" and "negotiated resolutions" are neither an alloyed benefit nor a detriment for defendants, victims or the criminal justice system generally, and like all compromises, this book shows how the perfect "justice" outcome gives way to the good, or just the reasonably acceptable justice outcome"-- Back cover Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 1-16 Plea Negotiations in Context (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 17-36 Defining Plea Negotiations (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 37-67 Other Forms of Negotiations (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 69-86 The Negotiation Process (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 87-130 Negotiation Outcomes (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 131-145 Plea Negotiations and Sentencing (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 147-183 Pragmatic Justice: At Any Cost? (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 185-206 Building Trust and Confidence in the Criminal Justice System (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 207-220 Concluding Comments (Asher Flynn, Arie Freiberg)....Pages 221-228 Back Matter ....Pages 229-277