Posted on 02/14/2018 6:05:53 AM PST by reaganaut1
The Sixth Amendment states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed….” Those words stand a clearly as they did when the Bill of Rights was adopted, but these days, Americans who insist on a jury trial may find themselves punished for doing so.
Here’s the problem. The American judicial system is so overwhelmed with cases that prosecutors don’t want to bother with trials. They would much rather strong-arm the defendant into a plea bargain, thus avoiding the cost and risk of a trial.
Defendants who resist the strong-arming are likely to suffer what Cato Institute legal scholar Clark Neily calls here “the trial penalty.” He writes, “It is among the most important features of America’s criminal justice system, and yet there is no reference to it in the Constitution, it is not taught in high school civics classes or even law schools, and most lawyers have never heard of it. Nevertheless, the Trial Penalty is the grease that keeps the massive engine of American criminal justice humming along at peak efficiency.”
More than 95 percent of criminal cases are settled with plea bargains and prosecutors would be happy if that number went over 99 percent, so defendants who demand a trial are usually hit by threats of various repercussions if they don’t cooperate. Human Rights Watch (HRW) states in this article, “In the rare cases in which defendants insist on going to trial, prosecutors make good on their threats. Federal drug offenders convicted after trial receive sentences on average three times as long as those who accept a plea bargain….”
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
The judiciary is the most corrupt and evil part of our government. It is full of hacks and those who lust only for more power. It needs to be completely revamped and this includes the SCOTUS...
All of the civil trials I have any experience with have settled, but usually not until minutes before the trial is scheduled to start or actually during the trial.
Defendants may waive their right to a speedy trial. I do know that judges have dismissed charges when the right has not been waived and the prosecution keeps delay after delay after, well delay.
Defendants also accept a plea bargain along the lines of better the devil you know than 12 people who would rather be anywhere but here deciding your fate. Even innocent people may opt for this when presented with the case the DA is making against them.
We spent over $20k on a conservatorship/trust challenge.
“In a free society, there should be far fewer reasons for anyone to ever be inside a courthouse. And speedy trials would be far more possible.”
Conservatives vowing to be “hard on crime” are as guilty for the legal excesses as are Marxist/Liberal/Progressives for just wanting every act possible to be defined as legal or illegal.
Tom Selleck - An Innocent Man (1989)
I’ve been on several juries. The last one involved a dispute between a contractor and a couple. The contractor was a rather odd and unpleasant man and there were a couple of women on the jury who were determined to punish him and “make an example” out of him. They frankly couldn’t stand him (though, to their credit, they weren’t bleeding hearts for the whining couple either).
Praise God for the “restraining force” of a pool of citizens! These ladies were buffeted by the more reasonable voices among our group that insisted it was irrelevant that the man was creepy. All that mattered was “IS HE AT FAULT?”
My experience as a litigant was 50-50... (two related and expensive suits).
there needs to be an online AI app for this.
... and that’s why we need free legal advice for everyone. /s, sort of
We should do to lawyers what 0vomitcare has done to doctors.
I once had a friend of the family (who has now passed away) who was a Judge in Iowa for 30+ years, tell me the court cannot guarantee you justice. The best it can do is offer a chance at justice. That was eye opening to me as a young man.
There is no Constitution...thus no speedy trials. Besides, laws and procedures are only for the schmucks, not for the precious elite.
They also only really care about getting paid and staying good with their fellow attorneys and judges. Your case is merely a paycheck to them.
I know someone in jail and the expected trial is 2 years out at least
So his guilty plea should be legally reversed, and the prosecutor who accepted it punished if it can be shown that he accepted it knowingly. In addition, Flynn should be compensated for his financial losses, both real and imputed.
Yep, that’s my read.
Never plead guilty to a crime that you did not commit.
Have you ever been in a jury pool or actually served on a jury?
I have served on two juries ... I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be in a room with a temperature number on any normal scale the same as my IQ. Kelvin, Fahrenheit, Celsius would all be grossly uncomfortable and ultimately fatal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.