chapter 10: pretrial processes

ad hoc plea bargaining

term used to refer to unusual concessions defendants agree to make during the plea negotiation process

affidavit

a document stating the facts relied on to create probable cause

change of venue

a request by the defendant to have their trial take place in a different location

charge reduction

a type of plea bargaining in which the prosecutor reduces the severity of the charge or the number of counts the defendant is facing in exchange for a guilty plea

defendant rehabilitation policy

a charging policy based upon the notion that the majority of defendants — particularly first-time offenders accused of nonviolent crimes — should not be processed through the criminal justice system; the focus of this policy is on early diversion of defendants and the use of noncriminal justice alternatives

downstream orientation

the notion that the prosecutors’ charging decisions in criminal cases reflect their predictions about the likelihood of conviction as the case moves toward trial; prosecutors attempt to predict how the judge and jury will evaluate the defendant, the victim, and the crime

legal sufficiency policy

a charging policy under which prosecutors file charges in all cases in which the legal elements of the crime are present; because prosecutors operating under this policy do not necessarily “screen out” cases where the evidence is weak, there is both a high proportion of cases that are accepted for prosecution and a large percentage of cases that are dismissed at preliminary hearings and trials

sentence agreement

agreement for sentencing leniency negotiated during the plea bargaining process; the prosecutor might agree to recommend a particular sentence, recommend that sentences be served concurrently rather than consecutively, or agree to recommend that the sentence not exceed some threshold (a “sentence lid”)

slow plea of guilty

a hybrid approach to case adjudication, with elements of both plea bargaining and trial; to receive concessions from the prosecutor, the defendant waives the right to a jury trial, and the case is adjudicated by a judge at a bench trial

substantial assistance departure

a type of downward departure authorized by the federal sentencing guidelines; the judge can impose a more lenient sentence than required by the guidelines if the defendant provides information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of another offender

system efficiency policy

a charging policy that emphasizes case screening as a way of decreasing office workload; this policy results in high levels of referrals to diversionary programs and in overcharging (for the purpose of enhancing the prosecutor’s power in plea negotiations)

trial sufficiency policy

a charging policy under which prosecutors evaluate cases in terms of their likelihood of conviction at trial; they file charges only if the odds of conviction at trial are good; this policy produces both a high rate of rejection at initial screening and a high trial rate for the cases that are not screened out