Chapter Topics
The Courtroom Work Group
The Many Faces of Plea Bargaining
Plea Bargaining and Courtroom Work
Groups
Forms of Punishment
Chapter Topics
Normal Penalties and Sentencing
Decisions
The Fairness of Sentencing
The Severity of the Penalty
Sentencing Guidelines
The Death Penalty
The Courtroom Work Group
• there is an underlying order to the
courtroom
• Courtroom Work Group – the
prosecutors, defense attorneys, and
judges working in in a courtroom
• the actors are regular and
interdependent
• share common goals and work
together
The Courtroom Work Group
• encourages cooperation
• contrast with normal thinking about
courtrooms as places of conflict
• results in expectations such as normal
penalties – unwritten, agreed upon
sentences that are considered appropriate
given the manner in which the crimes were
committed and the backgrounds of the
defendants
• results in a group consensus about the
meaning of justice
Faces of Plea Bargaining
• guilty pleas are common
• plea bargaining – the process
through which a defendant pleads guilty
to a criminal charge with the
expectation of receiving some
consideration from the state
• while not new, plea bargaining
continues to cause controversy
Types of Plea Agreements
• plea bargaining encompasses a wide
range of practices
• charge bargaining – defendant pleads
guilty to a less serious charge than the one
originally specified
• count bargaining – defendant pleads
guilty to one criminal charge
• sentence bargaining – defendant pleads
guilty on the basis of the promise of a
specific sentence
The Bargaining Process
• plea bargaining varies widely across
courts – but there are similarities,
important considerations include:
• seriousness of the offense – more serious
the crime, the harder the prosecutor works
• defendant’s criminal record – a prior
record results in fewer concessions
• strength of the prosecutor’s case –
stronger the evidence, the fewer the
concessions
Why Cases go to Trial
• cases go to trial when the parties
can’t settle
• go to trial based on two factors:
• the strength of the prosecutor’s case –
defense attorney may recommend trial
when the prosecutor’s case is perceived to
be weak
• severity of the possible penalty – trials
are more likely when the penalty is high
(i.e., not much to lose in going to trial)
The Courtroom Work Group
• plea bargaining cannot be explained
just by focusing on caseload
• an increasing caseload approach to
explaining bargaining suggests courtroom
actors are machines, more cases, more
bargaining
• plea bargaining is a result of the shared
norms by the members of the courtroom
work group about how to handle defendants
Presumption of Factual Guilt
• in cases that survive initial screening
courtroom actors assume a high-degree
of defendant guilt
• there a tendency for participants to
assume guilt and focus their energy
instead on how best to negotiate a plea
bargain to avoid the time and cost of a
trial
Costs and Risks of Trial
• trials are costly and time consuming
• trials present uncertainty (for all
participants)
• all members of the courtroom work
group have a common interest in
avoiding trials, which is a rational
response to the risks of trial
Jury Trial Penalty
• the costs of a jury trial are high for
everyone, but especially for the
government (i.e., jurors, judge,
prosecutor, clerk, etc.)
• if a defendant move a case forward
which other members of the courtroom
work group believe should be settled a
penalty might result
• some empirical evidence supports
claim
Copping a Plea
• historically guilty pleas were informal
matters
• today the process is structured—
realization that a plea of guilty is a
waiver of fundamental rights:
• presumption of innocence, jury trial,
confrontation of witnesses
• plea of nolo contendre – “I will not contest
it” is a guilty plea but not admission of guilt
• Judge’s may refuse pleas
Forms of Punishment
• common forms of punishment include:
imprisonment, probation, and fines
• more than 6.5 million adults are under
some type of correctional supervision
• judge must choose punishment
Imprisonment
• U.S. relies on imprisonment more
than any other Western nation
• 1.5 million inmates
• number of inmates has tripled during past
three decades
• many prisons are overcrowded
• Few prisoners serve their maximum term
• parole is the conditional release of an
inmate from prison after a portion of the
term has been served
Imprisonment
• good time is days off a sentence given to
prisoners for good behavior and
participating in prison educational programs
• The length of imprisonment depends on:
• criteria used by parole boards
• method used by correctional officials to
computer good time
• the number of people on parole continues to
increase—currently over 775,000
Probation
• principal alternative to imprisonment
• granted to more than 60% of offenders
• probation is designed to maintain control
over offenders while permitting them to live in
the community under supervision
• supported on two grounds:
• prisons are inappropriate places for some
• less expensive than imprisonment
Fines
• fines are one of the oldest and widely used
forms of punishment
• generate over $1 Billion a year for local
governments
• often used in conjunction with another type
of sanction
Normal Penalties and Sentencing
• sentencing is a joint decision-making
exercise, judges make the decision but all
members of the courtroom work group are
involved
• probation officers play a role – they
conduct presentence investigation which
often includes a recommendation for an
appropriate sentence
• each defendant and crime are different, but
the work group seeks to standardize sentences
using normal penalties factors include: a)
seriousness of offense and b) prior record
Seriousness of the Offense
• the most serious factor in setting normal
penalties is the seriousness of the offense
• work group examines the “real offense”
what really happened not what is charged
• most courts employ a rank ordering of
offenses going from the most serious—rape
and armed robbery to the less serious offenses
• a normal sentence is then determined for
the seriousness of the crime based on the
scale
Prior Record
• the defendant’s prior record is also
important in determining the sentence
• a single previous conviction may be
sufficient to deny probation
• one study showed that prior record had its
greatest affect on sentencing for less serious
offenses—when the crime is perceived as less
serious it is more tolerable for other factors to
contribute to the sentencing decision
The Fairness of Sentencing
• sentencing is the focus of considerable
debate
• liberals argue that sentences handed
down are unfair, conservatives argue that
sentences are too lenient
• sentences are expected to be a) fair, b)
consistent, and c) unbiased
• discrimination refers to illegitimate influences
in sentencing
• disparity refers to inconsistencies in
sentencing
Sentencing Discrimination
• sentencing discrimination studies focus on
extralegal variables (e.g., race, age, gender,
etc)
• studies often contradict one another
• studies involving race are the most
provocative
• legal factors appear to be more important
but race does play a role in some
sentencing decisions
• no clear conclusion
Sentencing Disparities
• sentencing disparities examines the
characteristics of the sentence
• researchers focus on geography—are
sentences the same across areas and
judicial attitudes—do all judges in an area
give the same sentence
• significant variation in sentencing patterns
exist across jurisdictions leading to—the
geography of justice
Sentencing Disparities
• but which judge hands down the decision
also counts
• numerous studies have shown that judges
have different sentencing tendencies—some
are known for handing out stiff penalties
others appear more lenient
• one study found that federal judges
appointed by Democratic presidents were
more likely than Republican appointees to
decide for the defendant
The Severity of the Penalty
• proposed solution for more crime is often
tougher sentences
• increasing the severity of the penalty
through minimum sentences has been a
common theme in criminal justice policy
• more sever penalties result in increasing
prison populations
Prison Overcrowding
• increasing prison populations is not without
costs
• minimum prison standards must be met
• the cost is > $70,000 to build a single jail
cell and $20,000 - $25,000 to house a prisoner
for a year
• state’s are finding it difficult to finance
prisons and this contributes to the pressure to
reduce prisoners early (i.e., parole)
Sentencing Guidelines
• concerns over the fairness/severity of
sentencing has led to major changes in this
part of the criminal justice system
• historically sentencing was handled by
judges with input from the courtroom work
group and they had tremendous discretion
• over time legislatures have gotten more
involved—reducing judicial discretion and
requiring more consistent application of
sentencing parameters
State Sentencing Guidelines
• statewide sentencing guidelines require the
judge to hand down a particular sentence
based on the
• severity of the crime, and the defendant’s
past criminal history
• there are two types of guidelines
• voluntary provide general guidiance
• mandatory guidelines state what sentence
should be imposed, if a judge goes outside
the guidelines they must provide
justification
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
• the same pressures at the state level
contributed to the development of federal
sentencing guidelines in 1987
• they have proven to be very controversial
and many courtroom actors have resisted their
application
• the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 greatly
altered how the federal guidelines are used
(U.S. v. Booker)
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
• first part of the opinion says Congress had
given too much authority to judges to make
factual decisions in sentencing
• the second part of the opinion allows federal
judges to continue using the guidelines as
advisory
• the short and long term impact of Booker is
unclear as the Congress and Federal Courts
determine the consequences of the decision
The Death Penalty
• Capital punishment (the death penalty) is
the most controversial form of punishment
• only a handful of offenders face the death
penalty but the number of persons serving a
sentence of death has increased consistently
since 1976 when the Supreme Court declared
it constitutional
• opponents believe it is discriminatory,
supporters claim that it is a deterrent
Eighth Amendment Standards
• capital punishment must be consistent with
the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against
cruel and unusual punishment
• the Supreme Court has heard many Death
Penalty cases setting standards and
procedures
• in Furman v. Georgia (1972) the S. Ct.
declared the death penalty unconstitutional
Eighth Amendment Standards
• in Gregg v. Georgia (1976) the S. Ct.
declared state death penalty laws
constitutional if they have a bifurcated trial:
• in the first phase the jury must consider
the guilt or innocence—and decide
unanimously the defendant is guilty
• during the second phase the jury must
consider whether to hand down the death
penalty and consider aggravating and
mitigating circumstances
• jury must be unanimous
Eighth Amendment Standards
• considerable variation across states
• 38 states and the federal government have
death penalty laws
• Supreme Court has continued to decide
cases that impact the imposition of the death
penalty
• mentally retarded persons may not be put
to death (Atkins v. Virginia 2002)
• 18 is the minimum age for executions
(Roper v. Simmons 2005)
Discrimination and Capital
Punishment
• charges of racial discrimination appear
frequently in debates about capital punishment
• African Americans have traditionally been
overrepresented among death penalty
defendants
• but other analyses have shown the
importance of legal variables
• the primary relationship of the offender is
an important factor in sentencing
Death Row Inmates
• approximately 3,400 prisoners are serving a
death sentence
• the preponderance are in the South
• universally male (98.6%)
• majority are white, racial minorities
overrepresented
• most never completed high school
• median age is 60
• 11 year average wait between sentence
and execution
Conclusion
• public debate about getting tough crime
• the courtroom work group is very important
• all actors consider the costs and benefits of
going to trial
• sentencing has changed over the years—today
judges have less discretion than they used to
• the death penalty continues to be controversial
and the Supreme Court continues to be involved
in its application