Why did plea bargaining replace the trial as the primary mechanism for determining guilt in criminal courts? Include “mutuality of advantage” in your answer.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The most obvious reason is the “mutuality of advantage” for prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. Prosecutors are elected officials, and plea bargaining allows them to maintain a “high batting average” of convictions and enables prosecutors to avoid the uncertainty of a formal trial. Young assistant prosecutors often are evaluated based on their “clearance rate” of cases, and their career advancement may depend on their ability to “clear the docket.” Another important consideration is that prosecutors will not have to concern themselves with legal challenges to police procedures because defendants pleading guilty waive their capacity to challenge searches and seizures, interrogations and lineups, and other constitutionally mandated procedures. Plea bargaining has the added advantage of freeing prosecutors to focus their resources on the trial of serious crimes.