Plea bargaining refers to a person charged with a criminal offence negotiating with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence. It is common in the United States, and has been a successful method of avoiding protracted and complicated trials. As a result, conviction rates are significantly high there. It primarily involves pre-trial negotiations between the accused and the prosecutor. It may involve bargaining on the charge or in the quantum of sentence.
In plea bargains, prosecutors usually agree to reduce a defendant’s punishment. They often accomplish this by reducing the number of charges of the severity of the charges against defendants. They might also agree to recommend that defendants receive reduced sentences. Some plea bargains require defendants to do more than simply plead guilty. For example, prosecutors often offer favorable plea bargains to defendants who agree to testify for the state in cases against other defendants.
Plea bargaining, as indicated above, is not above criticism. Many individuals complain that plea bargaining allows offenders to escape appropriate punishment for their crimes. Others feel that the existence of plea bargains penalizes those who exercise their constitutional right to trial. Still others argue that innocent defendants sometimes agree to plea bargains because they are bewildered by the justice system and do not know what to do.
Plea Bargaining is not an indigenous concept of Indian legal system. It is a part of the recent development of Indian Criminal Justice System (ICJS). It was inculcated in Indian Criminal Justice System after considering the burden of long-standing cases on the Judiciary.
To become a master of plea bargaining one has to be good at negotiations and communication. At the end of the day, Plea Bargaining boils down to the bargaining. It is about how well you bargain for your client. The better you bargain the better results you bring to your client. To become a master of plea bargaining one need to be abreast of the facts and the relevant laws. Your convincing power is one thing which makes you different.
In the legal arena, cases are unique in themselves, every case brings new opportunity to learn. The more plea bargaining you do, the more expertise you will have. Except for these skills, logical and analytical reasoning skills are very relevant for Plea Bargaining because it is very difficult to defy a statement backed by sound reasoning. Therefore, a conglomeration of all these skills makes you a master of plea bargaining.
The concept of plea bargaining is not entirely new in India. Indian has already recognized it when it got its constitution in 1950. Article 20(3) of Indian constitution prohibits self-incrimination. People accuse plea bargaining of violatory of the said article. But with the passage of time the considering the encumbrance on the courts, the Indian court has felt the need of Plea bargaining in Indian legal system.
When a change is brought it is hard to accept it initially but society needs to grow so is our legal system. Everything has advantages and disadvantages and both have to be analyzed in order reach a sound conclusion. Rejecting something only on the basis of its disadvantages would not be justified in any case. The concept of plea bargaining is evolving in India and it is not appropriate to expect it to be perfect. It can only be improved by debate, discussions, and discourses.
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