First Paragraph
For a number of reasons plea bargaining has become a very important part of United States criminal procedure. One of the most important reasons is economics; it would be prohibitively expensive to hold a full-scale trial for all those charged with a crime.2 Plea bargaining works because many defendants are willing to forego a criminal trial in exchange for a lesser sentence, and prosecutors are willing to offer a lesser sentence in order to secure a guilty plea while not expending as much time and effort as a trial would require.
Recommended Citation
Helen A. Haglich, A Comparison of Guilty Plea Procedure in the United States and Germany, 10 Penn St. Int'l L. Rev. 93 (1991).
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