This topic contains a solution. Click here to go to the answer

Author Question: Should plea bargaining and courtroom cameras be kept or barred from our legal system? Why or why ... (Read 44 times)

awywial

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 577
Should plea bargaining and courtroom cameras be kept or barred from our legal system? Why or why not?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Which of the following is not a consequence of case delay?
 
  a. Lengthy pretrial incarceration
  b. Better prosecutor/defendant communication
  c. Jail overcrowding
  d. Denial of speedy trial



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
Marked as best answer by a Subject Expert

Bigfoot1984

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 321
Answer to Question 1

 Some people within the court system believe that plea bargaining reduces the courthouse to something akin to a bazaar, where people barter over price. They see it as justice on the cheap. Others believe that plea bargaining makes the job of the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney much easier. Primary opposition to plea bargaining involves ideological preferences. Regardless of which side of the issue one supports, however, it is ironic that both police and civil libertarians oppose plea bargaining, but for different reasons. Police and others in the crime control camp view plea bargaining as undesirable because defendants can avoid conviction for crimes they actually committed while pleading to and receiving a sentence for lesser offenses. The police see victims at their worst and would much prefer to see the defendant convicted for the crime charged . Civil libertarians and supporters of the due process model oppose plea bargaining because, when agreeing to plead to a crime(s), the accused forfeits a long list of due process protections afforded under the Bill of Rights. Another concern is that an innocent defendant might be forced to enter a plea of guilty. Defendants who gain the most from plea bargaining are the less serious, marginal offenders in cases lacking evidence. By contrast, defendants in serious cases who have prior criminal histories do not benefit. In short, plea bargaining appears to reflect a rational rather than a coercive process.
 Opponents of cameras in courtincluding due process advocatescomplain that televising trials distorts the process by encouraging participants to play to the cameras, and that by covering only sensational trials and presenting only dramatic moments of testimony, television does not portray the trial process accurately. They argue that in celebrity cases even the witnesses exaggerate things to give themselves a bigger role . Supporters of the practice, conversely, maintain that televising trials has educational value, providing the public with a firsthand view of how courts operate. Indeed, studies have found that viewers of a television trial of moderate interest became more knowledgeable about the judicial process. The Supreme Court unanimously held that electronic media and still-photographic coverage of public judicial proceedings does not violate a defendant's right to a fair trial; states are therefore free to set their own guidelines.

Answer to Question 2

b





 

Did you know?

Amphetamine poisoning can cause intravascular coagulation, circulatory collapse, rhabdomyolysis, ischemic colitis, acute psychosis, hyperthermia, respiratory distress syndrome, and pericarditis.

Did you know?

There are 20 feet of blood vessels in each square inch of human skin.

Did you know?

Your heart beats over 36 million times a year.

Did you know?

There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in every adult human.

Did you know?

People with alcoholism are at a much greater risk of malnutrition than are other people and usually exhibit low levels of most vitamins (especially folic acid). This is because alcohol often takes the place of 50% of their daily intake of calories, with little nutritional value contained in it.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library