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Trial Penalty: The Harm in Coercive Prosecutorial Tactics and Plea Bargains
by David M. Reutter
"Representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty. Without them we have no other fortification against being ridden like horses, fleeced like sheep, worked like cattle, and fed and clothed like swine and hounds,” President John Adams once declared.
That warning ...
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More from this issue:
- One More Reason to Dislike Your State’s DMV, by Edward Lyon
- Trial Penalty: The Harm in Coercive Prosecutorial Tactics and Plea Bargains, by David Reutter
- Virginia Supreme Court Reverses Concealed Weapon Offense Because Statutory Exception Applied, by Douglas Ankney
- The Federal Habeas Corpus: Government’s Response and Your Reply, by Dale Chappell
- The Many Roads to Relief Under Borden, by Dale Chappell
- Montana Supreme Court: Court Reporter’s Medical Emergency and Judge’s Distress Don’t Constitute Manifest Necessity for Declaring Mistrial, Retrial Violates Double Jeopardy, by Douglas Ankney
- Virginia Passes Comprehensive Record Clearance Legislation, by Casey Bastian
- Arizona Supreme Court: Trial Court’s Failure to Protect Defendant’s Right to Conflict-Free Counsel May Be Raised on Direct Appeal 16 Massachusetts Supreme Court: Error to Exclude Expert Testimony on Significance of Tattoo to Support Claim of Self-Defense, by Douglas Ankney
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Error to Exclude Expert Testimony on Significance of Tattoo to Support Claim of Self-Defense, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit: Coworker Cannot Limitlessly Search Defendant’s Office at Direction of FBI, by Anthony Accurso
- Nebraska Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Pretrial Motion for Absolute Discharge on Speedy Trial Grounds, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Reverses ‘Abusive Language’ Conviction Where Government Failed to Offer Evidence That Racial Slur Tended to Cause Immediate Acts of Violence, by Douglas Ankney
- Should Public Defenders Be Tweeting?, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal Vacates Guilty Plea That Resulted in Legal Fiction, by David Reutter
- California Court of Appeal: When Federal Court Finds Petitioner Satisfies Schlup Standard, Victim Compensation Board Must Recommend Payment of Claim Without Hearing, by Douglas Ankney
- National Institute of Justice Funds Research to Differentiate Injuries Caused by Child Abuse from Accidental Injuries, by Matthew Clarke
- Police Funding Reallocated to Community Programs Nationwide, by Casey Bastian
- Ninth Circuit: Directly Searching Inside Detainee’s Pocket Not a Valid Terry Frisk for Weapons, by Anthony Accurso
- Atavistic South Carolinians Offer Option of Firing Squad to Condemned Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Delaware Supreme Court: Substitution Not Allowed for Chain of Custody Witness, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit: District Court May Consider Disparity of Defendant’s Actual Sentence Compared With Sentence Under First Step Act When Additional Factors Present, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit: Plain Error to Impose Destructive-Device Enhancement for .410 Shotgun, by David Reutter
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Denial of Suppression Motion Because Rationale for Community-Caretaker Exception Unreasonable, by Douglas Ankney
- Report: NYPD Sold Almost 22,000 of the 55,000 Phones Seized Last Year, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS: Cady’s ‘Community Caretaking’ Function of Police Doesn’t Create Standalone Doctrine Permitting Warrantless Entry into a Home, by Douglas Ankney
- Maryland and Montana: First States to Pass Laws Restricting Access to Consumer Genealogy Databases by Law Enforcement, by Casey Bastian
- It’s No Shock That Tasers Increase Brutality, by Casey Bastian
- South Carolina Supreme Court: Lifetime SORA Registration Requirement Unconstitutional Absent Opportunity for Judicial Review of Risk of Re-offending, by Anthony Accurso
- Mississippi Supreme Court: Drug Buy Between Dealer and User Doesn’t Constitute Conspiracy to Distribute, by David Reutter
- New Mexico Supreme Court: Constitutional Error to Accept Plea Without Assistance of Counsel, by David Reutter
- California Court of Appeal Reverses Felony-Murder Conviction Where Sentencing Occurred After SB 1437 Enacted, by Matthew Clarke
- Maryland Enacts Significant Police Reform, Overriding Governor’s Veto, by Jayson Hawkins
- Decision Not to Prosecute May Reduce Chance of Recidivism, by Kevin Bliss
- FBI Subpoenas Media Outlets for Information on Readers of Stories Criticizing Government, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit Extends Gant’s Automobile Search-Incident-to-Arrest Framework to Searches of Non-Vehicular Containers, by Douglas Ankney
- Texas Supreme Court: Multiple Misdemeanor Charges Resulting From Single Arrest Divisible for Expunction Purposes, by Douglas Ankney
- Police Legal Defense Funds Have Millions in Reserve, by Jayson Hawkins
- Big Brother Is Watching You Through Your Car, by Jayson Hawkins
- Constitutional Protections No Protection for Colorado Man Killed by Police, by Casey Bastian
- Warrantless Warrants and Crooked Courts in Chicago, by Jayson Hawkins
- Details Surface About Firm That Hacked iPhone for the FBI in 2016, by Anthony Accurso
- Debunking the Myth of ‘Dangerous’ Traffic Stops, by Jayson Hawkins
- Reports Show Law Enforcement Groups Are Main Force Pushing New Anti-Protest Laws, by Matthew Clarke
- Prosecutors Call for Humane Sentencing Measures, by Kevin Bliss
- Jury Refuses to Hold Abusive Cops Accountable for Beating Undercover Cop, by Anthony Accurso
- Digital Dogs, New Technology Designed to Sniff-Out Crime, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Two T-shirts Cost Louisiana Man 20 Years, by Edward Lyon
- Police Use of Facial Recognition May Be Broader Than Expected, by Anthony Accurso
- When Police Ignore Ordered Changes, Is It Really Reform?, by Douglas Ankney
- The People Have Spoken: Clemency Appointments Should Follow the Will of the People, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- The Louisiana Board of Parole Giveth and Taketh Away: The Troubling Case of Bobby Sneed, by Casey Bastian
- Police Target People of Color for Cannabis Crimes Despite Legalization, by Anthony Accurso
- Bodycams Do Not Hold Cops Accountable, Communities Do, by Anthony Accurso
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Order of Deferred Disposition Not a ‘Sentence’ Under Article 44.01(b)—Which Authorizes State to Appeal Illegal Sentence—Resolving Split Among State Courts of Appeals, April 15, 2025
- Fifth Circuit: Sentence Enhancement for Maintaining Drug Premises Not Satisfied Solely by Defendant’s Single, Conclusory Statement That He ‘Maintained’ Premises When Record Shows Mere ‘Use’ of Premises, April 15, 2025
- Illinois Pretrial Incarceration Becomes Less Random A Year After Elimination of Cash Bail, April 1, 2025
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
- ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, Feb. 15, 2025
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, Jan. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Virginia Governor’s Veto Exposes Prisoners Who Took Plea Bargains to Civil Rights Violations, Sept. 15, 2024. State Legislation, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Plea Bargaining.
- Law Review Article Reports Metadata on Victims of Coercive Plea Bargaining, Sept. 1, 2024. Databases, Coercive Interrogations, Plea Bargaining.
- Fourth Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Discovery and Evidentiary Hearing on § 2255 Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea Because It Was Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, March 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Police/Govt Misconduct, Plea Bargaining, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
- Survey: Why Defendants Cooperate with the Government in a Process Described as ‘Unfair’ by Defense Attorneys, Jan. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Reviews, Cooperation - Extraordinary, Cooperation with Local Authorities, Pleas Linked to Cooperation, Cooperation Agreements.
- American Bar Association’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, Oct. 1, 2023. Plea Bargaining.
- Eighth Circuit: District Court Erred in Denying Government’s Motion to Dismiss Charges as Part of Plea Agreement, Dec. 15, 2022. Plea Bargaining, Judicial Disqualification/Misconduct.
- Study Examines the ‘Black Box’ of Prosecutorial Charging and Plea Bargaining Discretion, March 15, 2022. Pleas Linked to Cooperation.
- Systematic Lying in Plea Bargaining Is a Feature, Not a Flaw, March 15, 2022. Guilty Plea, Plea Bargaining, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Study: Innocent Children Likely to Plead Guilty, Sept. 15, 2021. Disabled Prisoners, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Plea Bargaining.
- Law Review Article: Plea Bargains Lack Transparency, Dec. 15, 2020. Plea Bargaining.
