Explain the historical origins of plea bargaining
What will be an ideal response?
One of the earliest reported cases addressing plea bargaining was decided in the early 1800s. In that case, Commonwealth v. Battis, 1 Mass. 95 (1804), a court was hesitant to permit a guilty plea by a defendant charged with a capital crime.
Following Battis, other cases involving some degree of plea bargaining were reported.
One court's opinion focused on a Michigan statute that set forth specific requirements necessary for a valid guilty plea. The Court expressed concern that some of what could be called plea bargaining was taking place without the approval of the courts (Edwards v. People, 39 Mich. 760 [1878]). Plea bargaining became even more common in the early to mid-1900s. Many states had, by then, impaneled commissions to study the workings of their criminal justice systems.
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