[lbo-talk] jury duty

[JBrown72073 at cs.com]

michael hoover writes:
>contrary to conventional wisdom, plea bargaining - which has been around
>since so-called progressive era a century ago - did not develop in
>response to heavy case loads and evidence indicates that it is not
>primarily used for that purpose today...however, given existing
>structure of courts and limited number of judges, legal systems in most
>states would quickly break down if even half the criminal defendants
>pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial...at present, many
>defendants are convinced that they will be in for a rough time if they
>do not cooperate and plead guilty rather than have their cases go to
>trial...

That convincing is made a whole lot easier with mandatory minimum sentences.  
So, you can go before the judge (or jury) on a charge with a 10-year 
mandatory minimum, or you can plead to a lesser charge that carries 3 years.  How much 
of a risk-taker are you?  Thus mandatory minimums constitute a fearful weapon 
in the hands of the prosecutor.

Jenny Brown