2. Chapter Topics The Courtroom Work Group
The Many Faces of Plea Bargaining
Plea Bargaining and Courtroom Work Groups
Forms of Punishment

3. Chapter Topics Normal Penalties and Sentencing Decisions
The Fairness of Sentencing
The Severity of the Penalty
Sentencing Guidelines
The Death Penalty

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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)

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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)

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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)

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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