The American system of " plea bargaining " is fast becoming a staple of the Australian justice system. Basically it is what has long been termed " a deal " between the prosecution and the accused.
In exchange for a guilty plea the prosecution drops some charges or down grades others and both agree on the term of punishment which will be recommended for the judge to impose.
It has advantages for both parties. The court system is speeded up with a reduced number of criminal trials, saving both time and money. The prison system - which is over crowded - gets relief from shorter sentences imposes - and both the prosecution and the defence are spared the huge costs associated with a jury trial over days or in some cases weeks.
The only loser is the victim. In so many instances the aggrieved party waits patiently for his or her day in court to see justice served and the person who has transgressed against them suitably punished. When plea bargaining is involved, that punishment is usually far less than the public expect and it also falls far short of the sentence imposed where similar cases go to trial.
In essence, it is justice on the basis of " take a plea ", save the state money - and you get a discounted sentence for your compliance !
But - is it justice ? It certainly dilutes the certainty of a likely sentence which would be the norm for most crimes - and given the strains on the prison system and the pressure on magistrates to speed up the creaky litigation process there is every chance that plea bargaining will be the criteria of every prosecution within the next decade !
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