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"The Plea Jury"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the title of this really intriguing new article by Laura Appleman available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: For over thirty years, scholars, courts, defense attorneys and prosecutors have been deeply troubled by the guilty plea procedure, concerned about the sacrifice of rights and due process for cheap efficiency.  Although many legal players seem to dislike the plea, few have taken on its reform. With the Supreme Court's recent iteration of the jury's constitutional rights and powers in criminal adjudication, however, a way to meaningfully reform the guilty plea has finally arisen.  I propose incorporating the community into the guilty plea process through the use of a plea jury.  With a plea jury, a lay panel of citizens would listen to the defendant's allocution and determine the acceptability of the plea and sentence, reinvigorating the community's right to determine punishment for offenders...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).