Betrayal of Due Process: A Comparative Assessment of Plea Bargaining in the United States and Canada

• NCJ Number: 177723
• Author(s): H. Nasheri
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 209 pages
• Sale Source: University Press of America
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This book provides a detailed historical and legal review of the justification and circumstances surrounding plea bargaining practices in the United States and Canada.

Abstract

Two jurisdictions were selected for this analysis: the State of Ohio, as exemplified by the criminal justice system of its most populous county, Cuyahoga County; and Ontario Province, with attention to the operation of the courts in Toronto. The book is based on extensive research in the published works of the legal profession, of legal historians, and of social scientists, as well as a review of primary and secondary materials and the author's personal observations of numerous pretrials and plea discussions. Based on the research findings, the author concludes that the United States is much more accepting of plea bargaining than is Canada. Under the pressures generated by crime in an urban society, plea bargaining in the American court system has become widely approved, institutionalized, and legitimized by the American Bar Association and the U.S. Supreme Court. The current acceptance of plea bargaining in the United States also extends to legal scholars. The current emphasis of legal scholars is apparently to establish guidelines, on the theory that doing so will eliminate abuses of plea bargaining. The author observes that the widespread open acceptance of plea bargaining in the United States has led to a sometimes cavalier and jaded attitude and to wide-ranging exercise of discretion in plea bargaining among some participants in the criminal justice system. In the Canadian system, on the other hand, the exercise of discretion in plea bargaining is more constrained; there is less concern about expediency of case processing and more concern about ensuring that the facts and law match the conviction and sentence. The Canadian system, which ostensibly puts less emphasis on individual rights, may actually provide greater protection for the defendant in an average case than in the U.S. system of justice. 192 references and a subject index