What is a plea agreement?
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2015
- What is a plea agreement? This video introduces the controversial topic of plea agreements, also known as plea bargains, where defendants enter into agreements to plead guilty. Plea agreements are extremely common but also highly controversial. Among other things, there is a concern that too many innocent people agree to plead guilty to crimes that they did not commit.
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This video is an updated version of an earlier video on plea agreement video which can be found here: • What is a plea agreement?
Pleading guilty was one of the most mind boggling notions I have ever heard of. I used to always say:how on earth someone would aknowlodge his own crimes. Thanks to the video, the visibility of the usefulness of this notion becomes immensely clear to me.thank you.
So there was a case on court cam of a female teacher who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 14 year old student. The prosecutor offered her a plea deal that would have meant 6 months in jail and avoiding a felony conviction. She refused the deal, was convicted, and was sentenced to 8 years, needs to register as a sex offender, and has a felony conviction.
Why not just lessen sentences without changing the actual facts of the crime
Because in actuality, David is being ACCUSED. The premise of this video is confusing.
This is like compromising in a war, this typically happens to both an actual guilty person and an innocent. The latter will typically have unsufficient evidence to prove their innocence when faced with contrary proof of crime.
@Lennox Vance @Pierce Talon
You actually posted the replies like, seconds away from each other. It's rather obvious
There are, in general, 3 types of plea deals.
1. The prosecutor allows you to plead for a lesser crime and or drops some of the charges.
2. The prosecutor agrees to a particular sentence.
3. The prosecutor agrees to not make a statement of aggravation at your sentencing hearing.
Thank goodness I decided to watch this video, I was going to write an awful structured trial for a novel-
Plea bargaining violates prosecutors duty to the public trust. The government's employees claim it saves time and money is laughable. As if they care about the public trust. What it does is create a justice mill where on an epidemic scale prosecutors OVER charge every crime regardless of having ensured they have sufficient evidence of a crime obtained by law enforcement. This way everyone gets charged to fill the courts with paying customers with guilty and the innocent alike to generate the most revenue. Prosecutors advancing pay is determined by achieving wins on their record. Plea bargain is about attorney personal gain and help a dirty system flourish with dirty attorneys. It has nothing to do with justice. For example how is a prosecutor all of sudden god of the law. After legislators pass laws then attorneys decide what laws are enforced in courts and what doesn't. The unjustice system takes from tax payers and is destroying America.
unlawful dui if u accept to get trialed that means u have plead ur innocence aswell?
Amen!!!!!!!
@@shahabghasemi never plead guilty or non guilty plea for a trial. This is a Mafia... The U.S. justice system in small town counties will take your guilty plea , money , any and all rights you sign away and then rearrest you. To jail you go... I've seen it and experienced this...😈
@@avalonmist254 🤔
I’m here because I’m against plea deals. The first time i heard of it i was so disappointed in the legal system and disillusioned its my country and humanity. So thanks for that, Damn lawyers. I used to think court was about finding the truth!
Since plea bargains exist, they should at least be fully transparent. But really they shouldn’t even be a thing. Guess i have more ethics than my the justice system! Scary!
Thanks for commenting. Ann, blaming lawyers for plea agreements is a bit misdirected. If you are against plea agreements you should vote for legislators who share your views. In your other comment you suggest "lessening sentences" as an alternative to plea agreements. If I understand what you are saying correctly, I believe that plenty of other Americans would agree with you. One reason why many people favor decriminalizing drugs is because we already have such a large population of people imprisoned for violating our country's drug laws. For many years there was a perception that our courts were "too soft" on crime and in response people voted for politicians who supported stricter laws and mandatory sentencing. But we have to deal with the fact that our jails, prisons, and courts are burdened with so many cases.
Ok, damn politicians then. Sorry. I will vote accordingly . Thank you
@@USLawEssentials and the police plant evidence and break the Chain of Custody where sworn in people are protecting any evidence. Scary is an understatement. Criminal is better any beating me up in the woods after literally pulling me out of the car in the woods for a training video for 20 other officers. Sorry I will not plea to lies and things I didn't do. No plea accept I plea for a trial by jury. Corruption is rampant indeed sadly what can occur is they drop the case. Can you imagine all of the info to be pulled from the clerk for a jury trial. They will have so many lies and " typos" their seriously mafia like group will not want this to happen and honestly I would be curious what they would find if they dug up the back of the jail. I'm dead serious. Pun intended.
Thank you sir for clarification.
Right, I'm not nor have I ever taken a pleasure agreement. Luckily I haven't been to court as a defendant in a criminal trial. I would take my chances with a jury trial
So there was a case on court cam of a female teacher who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 14 year old student. The prosecutor offered her a plea deal that would have meant 6 months in jail and avoiding a felony conviction. She refused the deal, was convicted, and was sentenced to 8 years, needs to register as a sex offender, and has a felony conviction.
Jury trail is almost always a terrible idea. Instead of getting lets say 1 year in prison, you are now getting a 50/50 chance of getting nothing or 10 years.
so useful
I have a feeling nobody gets a 3rd degree...
This was made up. It varies by state but usually:
First degree is brandishing an actual firearm, or causing serious bodily injury to a victim.
Second degree is claiming to have a firearm, using a non firearm weapon, or causing bodily injury.
Third degree is using no weapon and causing little to no injury.
But yes, third degree is rare because most robberies do involve a weapon.
Is plea bargaining then an exchange for a crime to be diminished because of time and money? hm....
Its cohersion and sinister. So many people really think that their attorney is helping when they are friends with the DA and Judge to make a plea bargain similar to negotiating a car loan. You are to them Guilty. Never innocent!
Avalon Mist so true
The justice sistem is completely wrong and against you... it is just unfair!!!!! They said beyond resaunable doubt but this never occur for them you are guilty!!!! And the said side of the story is that legal aid lawyers agree with that and bring you to accept plea agreement even if you are innocent so then for all the reasons explain in the video you then plea guilty
im not a pro at crime laws, so i decided to learn more about plea agreement, after hearing about Spa shooter who killed 8 people, now i know this system is corupted
Sometimes u receive less time going to court and taking it to trial if u have a lot time to do either way I feel like u can’t lose just take it trial
Never, ever take the agreement, if they are giving you a "deal" it likely means that they don't even have a strong case against you.
@@ahprice1887 So there was a case on court cam of a female teacher who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 14 year old student. The prosecutor offered her a plea deal that would have meant 6 months in jail and avoiding a felony conviction. She refused the deal, was convicted, and was sentenced to 8 years, needs to register as a sex offender, and has a felony conviction.
I guess plea agreement are helpful
Not only it saves time and money but there's a whole bunch of people on court who are also criminals
I have to disagree with you chief. The plea deal being it “saves time and money” is a total sham in it being a fair system. Many innocent so called hard criminals have accepted this plea bargain because if not then they be punished in having more years which essentially ruins their lives. Imagine being charged with murder and you know it you didn’t do it and your attorney knows you didn’t do it, however you make the decision to take the plea bargain because if you don’t win then you basically ruined your own life. 95% of defendants take the plea bargain, how much of those do you think are innocent? The plea argument is only helpful to those who are actually guilty and not those who are innocent. It essentially makes the message out to the whole world that your assumed guilty until proven innocent. To me, it’s a fast system that is corrupt and not fair at all.
@@froggie1847 i think this is also applicable to doctors and idk for other professions.
Plea deals is a tactic of criminal extortion. If the government can’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant has committed the crime he’s been alleged to have committed, then of course the government has a weak case so the government will offer a plea to the defendant to admit guilt to a lesser charge absent of the governments burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt or any evidence that proves the defendant committed that lesser charge of crime. Of course the other option is to go to trial and prove your innocence but since the government didn’t meet its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt why would the defendant have to go to trial anyway? The system puts many people in predicaments of ultimatums. Even if you’re actually innocent, you have to prove it to the system even when they have an immensely weak case. There is no such thing as innocent until or unless proven guilty. You are presumed as guilty unless proven innocent. It’s criminal extortion.
Johnny Sack got me.
alright ill take the plea deal not gonna stay there for 25 years
since my ONLY "crime" was contempt of cop, I will plead to NOTHING
😮
But it`s not just saving Money and time for the tax-Payers. Very often the criminal gets a plea deal and a lower charge if he/she can give more Information About other criminals or crimes .
Good point, thank you.
@@USLawEssentials You are welcome! Here in Austria. our law is so different and it`s interesting to look into other law-systems.
There is another way to get information. Like torture beating etc.
Plea deal is useless and injust
How is pleading guilty to second degree justice when you committed first degree? Their crime should remain on their record accurately, if the court wants to spend less time and resource, then just say they committed first degree -- but took a plea deal.
Imagine if the crime was first degree homicide, how is it justified that someone could get less time by just admitting they did it?
TLDR: It's a broken system
So what you are saying is
'I am glad I did it and I would do it again' should be treated the exact same as 'Yea, sorry, that was very stupid of me.'
@blackfalcon1324 I don't think so. I just think there should be a clear admission of guilt and articulation of their conscience. Not a cop-out like "oh okay yeah I'll plea guilty if it'll get me less time"
Why plead guilty to 2nd degree when he is charged with 1st degree?
Ermmm maybe because 2nd degree is up to 15 years less prison time..
@@jordanunknown5128 But what if he later gets convicted of 1st degree?