The following quote is from one of xo's posts. The link he provided to the Herald Sun article no longer works.
"Nifong said plea deals must remain a fact of life, since Durham takes in 70,000 criminal cases a year at all court levels, while time and personnel restraints allow only 50 to 70 felonies to be tried annually."
It's rather hard to believe that only 70 felony cases reach trial in Durham each year.
First of all, there are 70,000 criminal cases, which include misdeameanors and felonies. Second, in any jurisdiction the vast majority of cases never reached trial, either because charges are dropped or because the defendant pleads guilty. Unlike this case, most of the time the defendant is guilty, and the state has credible evidence to convict, so he or she cuts their losses. Prosecutors are actually supposed to be able to look at cases and generally determine winners and losers. Generally, neither side wants a trial because juries are too unpredictable, and for the state trials are expensive. So typically 90%+ of criminal cases are resolved prior to trial.
That 70,000 figure seems extraordinary. What's the population of Durham?