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    Running Head: Prosecutorial Discretion 1

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    Paul Wahome
    This document discusses prosecutorial discretion in three areas: the decision to dismiss charges, the decision to file charges, and plea bargaining. Regarding dismissing charges, prosecutors have the power to drop charges if there is insufficient evidence or if the accused agrees to cooperate with police. However, dismissing charges for minor offenders could encourage more crimes. When deciding to file charges, prosecutors consider the seriousness of the offense, evidence, and criminal history. Plea bargains allow defendants to avoid trial costs and receive lighter sentences in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges. However, plea bargains also remove the chance for appeal and can provide too lenient justice. The document concludes that prosecutors should exercise integrity in these discretionary decisions.

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    Running Head: Prosecutorial Discretion 1

    Uploaded by

    Paul Wahome
    29 views4 pages
    This document discusses prosecutorial discretion in three areas: the decision to dismiss charges, the decision to file charges, and plea bargaining. Regarding dismissing charges, prosecutors have the power to drop charges if there is insufficient evidence or if the accused agrees to cooperate with police. However, dismissing charges for minor offenders could encourage more crimes. When deciding to file charges, prosecutors consider the seriousness of the offense, evidence, and criminal history. Plea bargains allow defendants to avoid trial costs and receive lighter sentences in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges. However, plea bargains also remove the chance for appeal and can provide too lenient justice. The document concludes that prosecutors should exercise integrity in these discretionary decisions.

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    This document discusses prosecutorial discretion in three areas: the decision to dismiss charges, the decision to file charges, and plea bargaining. Regarding dismissing charges, prosecutors have the power to drop charges if there is insufficient evidence or if the accused agrees to cooperate with police. However, dismissing charges for minor offenders could encourage more crimes. When deciding to file charges, prosecutors consider the seriousness of the offense, evidence, and criminal history. Plea bargains allow defendants to avoid trial costs and receive lighter sentences in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges. However, plea bargains also remove the chance for appeal and can provide too lenient justice. The document concludes that prosecutors should exercise integrity in these discretionary decisions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    29 views4 pages

    Running Head: Prosecutorial Discretion 1

    Uploaded by

    Paul Wahome
    This document discusses prosecutorial discretion in three areas: the decision to dismiss charges, the decision to file charges, and plea bargaining. Regarding dismissing charges, prosecutors have the power to drop charges if there is insufficient evidence or if the accused agrees to cooperate with police. However, dismissing charges for minor offenders could encourage more crimes. When deciding to file charges, prosecutors consider the seriousness of the offense, evidence, and criminal history. Plea bargains allow defendants to avoid trial costs and receive lighter sentences in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges. However, plea bargains also remove the chance for appeal and can provide too lenient justice. The document concludes that prosecutors should exercise integrity in these discretionary decisions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Running head: PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION 1

    PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION

    Student Name

    Institutional Affiliation

    Course
    PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION 2

    Introduction

    Prosecutors are the most influential and powerful officials in criminal justice. Prosecutors

    apply total discretion in three main areas of decision making: the decision to dismiss charges, the

    decision to file charges, and plea bargain.

    The prosecutor has the power to drop the charges imposed on an offender. One advantage

    of dropping cases is to eliminate the possibility of wrongful conviction by a judge when the

    prosecutor has insufficient evidence. Moreover, if an individual corporate and is willing to help

    the police solve other crimes, the prosecutor may opt to reduce or drop the charges. However,

    dropping cases because the accused is not a serious offender may give room for people to

    commit crimes under the notion their cases will be dropped (Schmalleger & Hall, 2017). Thus,

    increasing the probability of new offenses committed in society by new offenders.

    Prosecutors play a vital role in deciding which case to prosecute or drop. According to

    schmalleger, the decision to prosecute offenders is based on the following factors: the

    seriousness of the offenses, sufficient of the evidence linking the suspect to the crime, and the

    defendant's criminal record (Schmalleger & Hall, 2017). However, in some cases, the prosecutor

    may make biased judgments to protect their political ambition and public image. Because the

    prosecutor is mandated with the power to enforce law and justice, he may decide not to prosecute

    offenders even when the case might support a conviction.

    The plea bargain is a mutual agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant without the

    trial cost. A plea bargain eliminates the uncertainty that may occur during the legal process.

    Whereby defendants who chose to take the plea bargain removes the possibility that may arise
    PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION 3

    during a trial, additionally, according to schmalleger, the plea bargain may eliminate the

    maximum sentence that could be exercised if the defendant is found guilty by the jury or judge

    (Schmalleger & Hall, 2017). However, the plea bargain has disadvantages whereby it removes

    the chance for an appeal because the defendant accepted the plea bargain. Moreover, it can

    provide soft justice for the accused offender, whereby the plea bargain provides a lighter

    sentence when the accused agrees to plead guilty for a lesser charge.

    Conclusion

    The prosecutors should enforce integrity in the charging, dropping cases, and plea

    bargaining to exercise ethical practice in the justice system.


    PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION 4

    References

    Schmalleger, F (2017). Criminal Justice: Today an Introductory Text for the 21st Century (15th ed.).

    University of North Carolina. Published by Pearson.

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