Despite a popular view that trials are the focal point of the criminal justice process, in reality, the most frequent way a criminal matter resolves is not through a fiercely fought battle between state and defendant, but instead through a process of negotiation between the prosecution and defence, resulting in a defendant pleading guilty in exchange for agreed concessions from the prosecution. This book presents an original empirical case-study of plea negotiations drawing upon interviews with legal actors and an analysis of defence practitioner case files, to shine light on the processes and ways in which an agreed outcome is reached in criminal prosecutions, within the setting of a jurisdiction, like many others world-wide, which is suffering major shifts in state resources. Plea negotiations, also referred to as “plea bargaining”, “negotiated guilty pleas” and “negotiated resolutions” are neither an alloyed benefit nor a detriment for defendants, victims or the criminal justice system generally, and like all compromises, this book shows how the perfect “justice” outcome gives way to the good, or just the reasonably acceptable justice outcome.

In addition To The analysis of statutes and common law, The book contains the text of the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence. Handbook of Pennsylvania Evidence distills the vast body of evidentiary guidelines into a concise statement of the law in a form readily accessible to judges, lawyers and other professionals who must be aware of and adhere to these complex evidence rules. Organized for easy access, this convenient volume provides answers to evidentiary questions in a handy, easy-to-research format. it identifies the sources For The new rules, compares the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence To The Federal Rules, and explains the differences and similarities.

This book explores victims’ views of plea negotiations and the level of input that they desire. It draws on the empirical findings of the first in-depth study of victims and plea negotiations conducted in Australia. Over the last 50 years, the criminal justice system has seen major changes in both the role that victims play in the justice process and in how the vast majority of criminal cases are finalised. Guilty pleas have become the norm, and many of these result from negotiations between the prosecutor and the defence. The extent to which the victim is one of the participating parties in plea negotiations however, is a question of law and of practice. Drawing from focus groups and surveys with victims of crime, Victims and Plea Negotiations seeks to privilege victims’ voices and lived experiences of plea negotiations, to present their perspectives on five options for enhanced participation in this legal process. This book appeals to academics and students in the areas of law, criminology, sociology, victimology and legal studies, those who practice in the criminal justice system generally, those who work with victims, and policy makers.

Negotiation is a ubiquitous part of social life. Some even say that social order itself is a negotiated phenomenon. Yet the study of negotiation as an actual discourse activity, occurring between people who have substantial interests and tasks in the real social world, is in its infancy. This is the more surprising because plea bargaining, as a specific form of negotiation, has recently been the center of an enormous amount of research attention. Much of the concern has been directed to basic ques tions of justice, such as how fair the process is, whether it is unduly coercive, and whether it accurately separates the guilty from the innocent. A study such as mine does not try to answer these sorts of questions. I believe that we are not in a position to answer them until we approach plea bargaining on its own complex terms. Previous studies that have attempted to provide a general picture of the process as a way to assess its degree of justness have neglected the specific skills by which prac titioners bargain and negotiate, the particular procedures through which various surface features such as character assessment are accomplished, and concrete ways in which justice is administered and, simultaneously, caseloads are managed.

Bringing together established and emerging scholars from around the world, the Research Handbook on Plea Bargaining and Criminal Justice examines the practice of plea bargaining, through which guilty pleas are secured and trials are avoided.

With this comprehensive study, written in lay language, David Fellman provides an up-to-date analysis of the rights of the accused, certain to be welcomed by political scientists, students of public law, and all with an interest in due process of law. Since Fellman's 1958 book, The Defendant's Rights, substantial changes in the criminal justice system have occured. The past few decades before the publication of The Defendant's Rights Today have been witness to a striking expansion of the central concept of due process of law as it relates to criminal justice. The subject of defendants' rights is broad and complex. Fellman here explores its underlying concepts, bringing together a comprehensive discussion of the effects of the criminal justice system on the accused from arrest, through trial, to post-conviction remedies.